
Isaac Choi, CEO from “Scammed by a Silicon Valley Startup” Pleads Guilty - skmurphy
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2018/02/06/isaac-choi-wrkriot-guilty-plea-fraud-charges.html
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skmurphy
This analysis on the Fenwick website "Grand Jury Indicts Startup Founder Isaac
Choi – Implications for Silicon Valley" By Casey O’Neill and Hanley Chew from
June 19, 2017 [https://www.fenwick.com/publications/pages/grand-jury-
indict...](https://www.fenwick.com/publications/pages/grand-jury-indicts-
startup-founder-isaac-choi-implications-for-silicon-valley.aspx)

Seems to conclude that there nothing new to see here, noting in the
Significance section:

The facts of Choi are not particularly complex, and are far from
groundbreaking. The indictment contains a handful of wire fraud counts for
conduct that, if proven, amounts to simple deception at a small Silicon Valley
company. As one commentator has noted, much of the conduct is par for the
course in the Valley. For employees seeking to earn their stripes and fortune
at a startup, experiences similar to those at WrkRiot are practically a “rite
of passage.”

They don't link or footnote who the commenter is or who viewed this as a rite
of passage. They conclude:

"Ultimately, the government’s success if Choi is litigated, and the length of
any resulting sentence, will depend in part on whether a jury and judge accept
the notion that Choi’s conduct amounts to something more than conventional
Silicon Valley antics, that is, this was more than an unfortunate rite of
passage for WrkRiot employees. Regardless of the result, the Choi indictment
demonstrates that on suitable facts, DOJ will delve into the internal affairs
of a startup despite only modest losses. Founders and their advisers should
keep WrkRiot in mind, balancing zeal for product and capital and the need to
survive with the need for both investor-facing and internal restraint."

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skmurphy
Original HN discussion
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12379518](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12379518)
opening paragraphs from San Jose Business Journal article:

"Isaac Choi, the founder of a shuttered Santa Clara startup, faces up to 20
years in prison and a potential $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to
defrauding his employees.

The story of 36-year-old Choi surfaced after former employee Penny Kim wrote a
Medium post titled “I Got Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup” in August 2016.

Federal prosecutors said that Choi, who went by at least four different names,
falsified his educational and professional history and personal wealth, and
scammed at least a dozen employees.

His online job search company, WrkRiot, was known as 1.For.One when it was
founded in 2015."

