I subscribe to the "don't ask, don't tell" theory with Tabb. Anyone savvy enough to own a few car dealerships and run a publicly traded company is no babe in the woods. I really think he didn't think UPCA would get shut down that fast. After all, there are lots of biotech companies that claim to have cures for something of other and they've been trading for years. Heck, AZNT put out a PR saying the had a creme to prevent AIDS, a cure for baldness, and gum that prevented cavities and they are still trading! Tabb probably figured Flores would handle everything anyway, so why sweat the details?
If I tell you that I have discovered a huge cache of diamonds in my backyard and, without bothering to confirm or deny this, your publicly traded company buys rights to my property and puts out a press release about your amazing purchase, my guess is you are just as much at fault as I am. Ignorance is no excuse.
Now, had you asked me to "prove" this to you and I brought you a bunch of uncut diamonds claiming they were from my backyard, then while you still are probably liable for your actions, I suppose a jury might give you some lenience. However, on the other hand, if it can be shown that any reasonable person should have known something too good to be true probably was, i.e. diamonds have never before been found in my home town, then perhaps he'd get no lenience. Perhaps a lawyer could be more precise (g).
- Jeff |
