Ex-VP of exercise bike startup stole over $400G (NY Daily News)

[djg21]

He took his employer for a ride.

A former executive at a popular exercise bike startup stole more than $400,000 from his firm and brazenly posted selfies on social media that show him living large off of his ill-gotten gains, Manhattan prosecutors say.

Lawrence White, an ex-vice president of finance at Peloton Cycle, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of grand larceny in March for using corporate credit cards and a bogus account to pay for vacations and prime seating at sporting events, according to court documents.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ex-vp-exercise-bike-startup-stole-400g-firm-article-1.3205504

Does this mean I'll stop seeing the annoying ads on Facebook?

[MattTuck]

Damn, they're going to have to convince 200 more people to buy their bikes to make up for this loss.

Wonder how they'll do it this time, they already played the "you're a bad mother if you go to spin class". Probably the next one will be someone with a parent with Alzheimer's, and they'll guilt trip you that going for a bike ride would be abandoning your loved ones to the perils of dementia.

[Bentley]

The ads are quite annoying, but anything that gets folks moving, that has to be a good thing. Price is very steep.

Really a shame, sounds like a smart young man that just got caught up in things, hopefully he can put this behind him and make something positive of his life.

[belopsky]

oh wow.

I've actually seen their product up close, been on it, and talked to the engineers that work on the back end - it's heavily Python for those interested.

[GregL]

Young, arrogant and greedy. Another graduate of the Martin Shkreli school of management. Who says millennials aren't ambitious?

[Red Tornado]

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ex-vp-exercise-bike-startup-stole-400g-firm-article-1.3205504

Does this mean I'll stop seeing the annoying ads on Facebook?

..... and TV?

[joosttx]

Tough to get away when the get-away-car is a stationary bike

[LegendRider]

First rule of embezzlement: Don't have an ostentatious lifestyle.

[Mark McM]

Well, he should at least have had the decency of providing us the entertainment value of trying to get way by faking his own death, like this guy tried:

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/marcus-schrenker-fake-death/story?id=10201960

[thirdgenbird]

First rule of embezzlement: Don't have an ostentatious lifestyle.

if the average 35 year old spent an influx of 400k wisely, there wouldn't be much left for the ostentatious lifestyle. I know that's not likely from someone who embezzled, but hear me out.

50k to pay off students loans (individual and spouse)
100k towards a 250k three bedroom home
100k into a retirement plan
45k for a run of the mill domestic SUV
35k on a sedan for a spouse
10k on a used motorcycle
10k for a bicycle and related equipment
50k in savings as a safety net

Given other income, it would be a very comfortable lifestyle, but it's not completely out of sync with a 35 year old that worked hard and spent wisely.

[joosttx]

if the average 35 year old spent an influx of 400k wisely, there wouldn't be much left for the ostentatious lifestyle. I know that's not likely from someone who embezzled, but hear me out.

50k to pay off students loans (individual and spouse)
100k towards a 250k three bedroom home
100k into a retirement plan
45k for a run of the mill domestic SUV
35k on a sedan for a spouse
10k on a used motorcycle
10k for a bicycle and related equipment
50k in savings as a safety net

Given other income, it would be a very comfortable lifestyle, but it's not completely out of sync with a 35 year old that worked hard and spent wisely.
Spending wisely is spend money to make money. Sorry for the drift.

[thirdgenbird]

Spending wisely is spend money to make money. Sorry for the drift.

Should we call that spending or investing?

And good point. I maybe should have used resonable instead of wise. Whatever the case, it appears to be better than the average American. (No savings and multiple unnecessary loans)

[Buzz Killington]

A fool and his money are soon partying.

[thirdgenbird]

A fool and his money are soon partying.

Except it wasn't his money :)

[firemanj92]

I think a friend of mine had invested $$ in company as a silent partner. I hope it works out for him.

[AngryScientist]

this guy was an FN amateur based on the photos posted in that article!

if i had $400k of someone else's cash money to blow, and i was going to post about it all over the net, i sure as hell wouldnt be taking photos with dolphins!

if i were going to get busted anyway, at least i know how to party, for real.

haha

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.3205483.1496127308!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/article-bike5-0530.jpg

[ultraman6970]

When people will learn??? Social media is the worst, specially if you want to hide stuff.... U want to steal?? learn to the cashier of a bank in south america... took him like 15 years but he oppened a fake account then dropped cents in there coming from costumers transactions, one cent here, 2 cents there, like the country technically speaking doesnt use cents nobody noticed till the sucker did not show up to work after a long weekend. Took like months figure it out he had like 3 millions dollars in the account, he left the country and nobody has been able to find him either and I doubt that one is using social media either.

But idiots like this VP guy, they deserve to be caught, plain idiots.

[Mark McM]

When people will learn??? Social media is the worst, specially if you want to hide stuff....

For many people, the entire purpose of having money is to show off ...

[Mr. Pink]

Now that you mention it, I haven't seen one of those irritating perfect mother in a perfect house with the perfect kids and the perfect husband commercials in some time. But, then again, Le Tour is coming......

[Idris Icabod]

I would wager that he thinks he did nothing wrong and that he was entitled to spend the companies money on his lavish lifestyle. A venture capital supported company that I have some knowledge of fired their CEO and information is leaking out about his spending habits. Whilst not close to this example, he was having the company pay for his entire families cell phone plan and expected the company to keep paying after he was booted, even went as far as to keep submitting expenses.

[Mzilliox]

I blame the corporate culture in this country. we applaud this behavior until the guy gets caught then we all talk about how we wouldn't get caught. why don;t we just say this is a ****ty way to behave and leave it at that? because in America doing this like this can be seen as success. thats why.
humans are a sad species, capable of so much, waste so much more:(

[Lewis Moon]

I blame the corporate culture in this country. we applaud this behavior until the guy gets caught then we all talk about how we wouldn't get caught. why don;t we just say this is a ****ty way to behave and leave it at that? because in America doing this like this can be seen as success. thats why.
humans are a sad species, capable of so much, waste so much more:(

America's latest hero archetype:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d8/19/a7/d819a74d4f3492a165f9b285138b5e9e.jpg

[Dead Man]

..... and TV?

Was ist das?

[thirdgenbird]

For many people, the entire purpose of having money is to show off ...

I'm amazed at some of the houses, cars, and toys in my community. I don't know how some people afford to live the way they do. It's a reasonably small town with a few big employers so estimated earnings isn't a total shot in the dark.

[jruhlen1980]

I don't know how some people afford to live the way they do.

As someone who has dabbled in bankruptcy law, the answer is, they don't.

[christian]

Really a shame, sounds like a smart young man that just got caught up in things, hopefully he can put this behind him and make something positive of his life.I'm sorry, what? He's 35 years old and committed a multi-year fraud. That's hardly 'getting caught up in things.' If there's any justice in the world, he'll do serious time. Lots of people do for vastly less.

[54ny77]

Awww come on, I'm sure he was a great kid, just getting ready to turn around his life around (right after he got back from the Caribbean).

;)




I'm sorry, what? He's 35 years old and committed a multi-year fraud. That's hardly 'getting caught up in things.' If there's any justice in the world, he'll do serious time. Lots of people do for vastly less.

[ColonelJLloyd]

i'm sorry, what? He's 35 years old and committed a multi-year fraud. That's hardly 'getting caught up in things.' if there's any justice in the world, he'll do serious time. Lots of people do for vastly less.

+1

[redir]

Young, arrogant and greedy. Another graduate of the Martin Shkreli school of management. Who says millennials aren't ambitious?

Sociopathic capitalists come from all generations.

[thirdgenbird]

As someone who has dabbled in bankruptcy law, the answer is, they don't.

It would be interesting to know how close they are operating to bankruptcy. I know some of them get real worked up when the economy slows.

I'm sorry, what? He's 35 years old and committed a multi-year fraud. That's hardly 'getting caught up in things.' If there's any justice in the world, he'll do serious time. Lots of people do for vastly less.

Agreed.

[jruhlen1980]

It would be interesting to know how close they are operating to bankruptcy. I know some of them get real worked up when the economy slows.



Agreed.

2-3 paychecks, or one good medical emergency, generally.

[Lewis Moon]

Sociopathic capitalists come from all generations.

Perfect description. I'm using that.

[MattTuck]

are you suggesting that all capitalism is based on sociopathy?

[shovelhd]

Here we go. Just don't engage the troll.

[Lewis Moon]

are you suggesting that all capitalism is based on sociopathy?

Um....no. What made you jump to that conclusion?

[MattTuck]

Um....no. What made you jump to that conclusion?

Gotcha. I thought you were saying the 'sociopathic' adjective was the appropriate descriptor for the word capitalist.