NEA & JJDC Funded, ExploraMed Incubated, Startup Acclarent, Johnson & Johnson’s Former Executives Facteau & Fabian’s Criminal Trial Likely Delayed “A Few Weeks”

NEA & JJDC Funded, ExploraMed Incubated, Startup Acclarent, Johnson & Johnson’s Former Executives Facteau & Fabian’s Criminal Trial Likely Delayed “A Few Weeks”

May 12, 2016

USA v. Facteau & Fabian et al Massachusetts District Court, Case No. 1:15-cr-10076 criminal trial set for Monday, May 23, 2016, stemming from the April 2015 arrest and 18 count federal indictment of NEA and Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC)* funded, ExploraMed incubated, startup Acclarent, purchased by Johnson & Johnson, whose former executives William (Bill) Facteau (currently CEO of NEA and JJDC and 20 other unnamed investors** funded startup EarLens) and Patrick (Pat) Fabian (currently COO of Alley Bridge & Boston Scientific funded startup NxThera)k

*Full list of venture capital 

**NEA & JJDC along with 20 other unnamed investors (that doesn’t seem shady, at all) fund EarLens.  Sure hope the SEC is taking a look at this.

Wow, so NEA & JJDC funded startup fraud at Acclarent where William (Bill) Facteau was CEO and decided to double-down and both fund* startup EarLens where William (Bill) Facteau is currently CEO? That certainly looks a lot like that encouraging, replicating and rewarding of unethical and or illegal behavior The Sociopathic Business Model™ discusses.

You’ll note at the bottom of this page, there’s a countdown clock to this criminal trial, and with 10 days left before the start of the trial, Assistant US Attorneys Sara Miron Bloom and Patrick Callahan of the District of Massachusetts, who’ve met with and prepped witnesses, at taxpayer expense, decided to delay this trail likely “a few weeks.”

This could mean any number of things.  Does this trial fall during a paid government holiday? The world would likely end if a government employee missed one of those. Or have the defense attorneys reached out to try and strike a deal? Or worse, are the defense attorneys playing the DOJ attorneys Bloom & Callahan using this as a stalling tactic? While Bloom and Callahan may agree to an “act of good faith” settlement delay, it’s laughable if they conceded to the defense’s clients, wouldn’t find themselves in the position if they’d done anything related to this case “in good faith.” Let’s hope Bloom and Callahan were smart enough to make sure the defense brought something substantial to the table before agreeing to delay the case (again costing taxpayers money).

Let’s start a list of some acceptable terms that would allow the DOJ to open up the discussion of striking a deal this late in the game: Personally, I think this is a horrible idea as they’ve already lost leverage, unless of course they still kept the trial date on the books, just in case the defense wasn’t really acting “in good faith” and just stalling to avoid the inevitable.

• Facteau & Fabian should serve a minimum of six months in federal prison
• Facteau & Fabian should be banned for life from CMS (Medicare/Medicaid government) contracts
• Facteau & Fabian should be banned for life from holding any executive positions or board positions for any venture capital funded startup.
• Facteau & Fabian  should be banned for life for working for any venture capital company or incubator.
• Facteau & Fabian should be forced to publicly disclose who is paying their legal bills.
• Facteau & Fabian should pay restitution not only to the federal government but also to every non-executive Acclarent employee from 2008 until they left the company in November 2011.  Johnson & Johnson should also be responsible for restitution but this is a criminal trial of individuals.

Any former Acclarent employees, or venture capital funded startup employees, feel free to add some things you’d like to see the DOJ do to prevent the encouraging, replicating and rewarding of unethical and or illegal behavior in venture capital funded startups.  Remember, quotas were based off of what they VCs expected on their ROI (8-10 x’s their original investment) and not what the market could bear which is fraud.

• Venture capital funded startup fraud is why when asked for the formula used to arrive at quotas, employees were insulted, demeaned and told they couldn’t sell.
• Venture capital funded startup fraud is why no matter what reps sold, or how well they did, it was never enough.  It wasn’t because they didn’t know how to sell, it was because the startup was based on false projections to give the appearance of hypergrowth for an overvaluation to get the VCs their money back at the expense of employees, consumers/patients, and taxpayers (who are now footing the bill for venture capital funded healthcare fraud)
• Venture capital funded startup fraud is causing underperforming post-IPO or acquisition
• Venture capital funded startup fraud is why employees’ salaries are cut in half after the IPO or acquisition.
• Venture capital funded startup fraud is why hard working employees get laid off post-IPO or acquisition while the executives who mismanaged based on fraud, remain, demonstrating that unethical and illegal behavior is encouraged, replicated and rewarded.

The DOJ and public should encourage the employees to come forward and expose fraud, they’re the first to see it, experience the negative effects of it and unfairly get called out for doing the right thing.  Rats aren’t the people who expose fraud, rats are the ones who threaten and intimidate those who expose the negative truth others would rather remain hidden as a means to continue their abusive unethical and illegal behavior.

Let’s hope two know corrupt entities negotiating behind closed doors on behalf of the employees, consumers, patients and taxpayers are forced accountable and create positive change in a very corrupt venture capital funded startup healthcare fraud cycle. I’m not too hopeful that a settlement will happen, fact-based evidence over time coupled with the arrogance of the industry will likely result in Facteau and Fabian leaving the fate of their future in the hands of jurors. Likely hoping jurors will, no doubt, ignore the facts and are charmed by fraud, acquitting the less than dynamic duo.  Let’s also remember that an acquittal of a federal charges is not the same as not guilty, just ask Casey Anthony or O.J Simpson or Vascular Solutions Howard Root.