Even with all the intelligence at their disposal, human beings have never really managed to shake off their tendency to make mistakes. This remains well-documented throughout our history, with each testimony practically forcing us to look for a defensive cover. We will, on our part, find the best possible answer here as soon as we bring dedicated regulatory bodies into the fold. You see, having a well-defined authority across each and every area was a hugely pivotal moment, considering it instantly concealed a lot of our shortcomings. The whole utopia, however, will be pretty short-lived, and if we are being honest, it was all technology’s fault. We say that, because the moment we allowed technology’s layered nature to take over the scene, it gave people an unprecedented shot at exploiting others for their own benefit. Soon enough, this was happening on such a big scale that it overwhelmed our governing forces and sent them back to the drawing board. Now, while the flip in power was a sizeable setback, the good news is we are finally on the cusp of making a comeback. The same has been wholly apparent over the recent past, but a new DoJ move can very well solidify it even further.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Department of Justice has officially charged former Qualcomm research, VP Karim Arabi and three others for tricking the chip maker into buying a technology it had all along. The runner started when Arabi developed a quicker method to test processors. Once developed, he and his allies spread a false narrative of how a Canadian prodigy named Sheida Alan had actually developed this next-generation microchip technology and was commercializing it through a startup named Abreezio. Convinced it did not have anything of that sort in its arsenal, Qualcomm went out and splashed $150 million to buy the startup, which spoiler alert, was not owned by a Canadian graduate. Instead, it was Arabi’s sister who pretended to be Sheida throughout the negotiations. After getting the money, the four culprits quickly move to launder it through various methods, including interest-free loans and purchasing foreign real estate.
“By hiding Karim’s participation in Abreezio, the defendants were able to pitch the new company as ‘an angel-funded Silicon Valley-based design IP start-up’ entitled to a hefty fee for its valuable technology, while disguising the victim company’s own legal rights to the very same technology,” said the Department of Justice.
Assuming Karim and Co. is convicted by the court; each member could face upto 20 years in prison, along with a fine of either $250,000 or double of what they gained from their fraud.
