Wrongly accused Bay Area tech workers say feds put them through ‘hell’ in failed Fitbit case

[Disir]

Ana Rosario was at home in Pacifica when two men in dark suits came to her door. They were federal agents, and they wanted to talk to her about her move from one Bay Area technology company to another. She was told she was under investigation for possibly possessing stolen trade secrets belonging to her previous employer, now-defunct wearable-devices firm Jawbone, and bringing them to her new employer, rival company Fitbit.

Unaware that any lawyer would have told her to keep her mouth shut, Rosario, 35, told the feds everything she thought they should know. “I hadn’t done anything,” Rosario said Friday.

A year and a half later, less than two months after the birth of her son, Rosario was indicted in federal court in San Jose along with five other workers who had left Jawbone for Fitbit, all charged with possessing stolen Jawbone documents. Rosario was facing a decade in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

“I was shocked. I was terrified,” she said. “I had to get a mug shot. I never imagined in my life that I would be doing something like this.” For a year and a half, Rosario was under indictment, the prosecution continuing despite a Jawbone IT manager telling investigators and prosecutors that he sat beside her while she deleted the company files he’d told her she needed to remove before leaving the firm.
Bay Area tech workers say failed Fitbit case was 'hell'

That is absolutely insane.

 

[OnePercenter]

Ana Rosario was at home in Pacifica when two men in dark suits came to her door. They were federal agents, and they wanted to talk to her about her move from one Bay Area technology company to another. She was told she was under investigation for possibly possessing stolen trade secrets belonging to her previous employer, now-defunct wearable-devices firm Jawbone, and bringing them to her new employer, rival company Fitbit.

Unaware that any lawyer would have told her to keep her mouth shut, Rosario, 35, told the feds everything she thought they should know. “I hadn’t done anything,” Rosario said Friday.

A year and a half later, less than two months after the birth of her son, Rosario was indicted in federal court in San Jose along with five other workers who had left Jawbone for Fitbit, all charged with possessing stolen Jawbone documents. Rosario was facing a decade in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

“I was shocked. I was terrified,” she said. “I had to get a mug shot. I never imagined in my life that I would be doing something like this.” For a year and a half, Rosario was under indictment, the prosecution continuing despite a Jawbone IT manager telling investigators and prosecutors that he sat beside her while she deleted the company files he’d told her she needed to remove before leaving the firm.
Bay Area tech workers say failed Fitbit case was 'hell'

That is absolutely insane.

If you are under federal indictment why would you get pregnant?

 

[Disir]

Ana Rosario was at home in Pacifica when two men in dark suits came to her door. They were federal agents, and they wanted to talk to her about her move from one Bay Area technology company to another. She was told she was under investigation for possibly possessing stolen trade secrets belonging to her previous employer, now-defunct wearable-devices firm Jawbone, and bringing them to her new employer, rival company Fitbit.

Unaware that any lawyer would have told her to keep her mouth shut, Rosario, 35, told the feds everything she thought they should know. “I hadn’t done anything,” Rosario said Friday.

A year and a half later, less than two months after the birth of her son, Rosario was indicted in federal court in San Jose along with five other workers who had left Jawbone for Fitbit, all charged with possessing stolen Jawbone documents. Rosario was facing a decade in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

“I was shocked. I was terrified,” she said. “I had to get a mug shot. I never imagined in my life that I would be doing something like this.” For a year and a half, Rosario was under indictment, the prosecution continuing despite a Jawbone IT manager telling investigators and prosecutors that he sat beside her while she deleted the company files he’d told her she needed to remove before leaving the firm.
Bay Area tech workers say failed Fitbit case was 'hell'

That is absolutely insane.

If you are under federal indictment why would you get pregnant?

It's limbo.

 

[Pogo]

Ana Rosario was at home in Pacifica when two men in dark suits came to her door. They were federal agents, and they wanted to talk to her about her move from one Bay Area technology company to another. She was told she was under investigation for possibly possessing stolen trade secrets belonging to her previous employer, now-defunct wearable-devices firm Jawbone, and bringing them to her new employer, rival company Fitbit.

Unaware that any lawyer would have told her to keep her mouth shut, Rosario, 35, told the feds everything she thought they should know. “I hadn’t done anything,” Rosario said Friday.

A year and a half later, less than two months after the birth of her son, Rosario was indicted in federal court in San Jose along with five other workers who had left Jawbone for Fitbit, all charged with possessing stolen Jawbone documents. Rosario was facing a decade in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

“I was shocked. I was terrified,” she said. “I had to get a mug shot. I never imagined in my life that I would be doing something like this.” For a year and a half, Rosario was under indictment, the prosecution continuing despite a Jawbone IT manager telling investigators and prosecutors that he sat beside her while she deleted the company files he’d told her she needed to remove before leaving the firm.
Bay Area tech workers say failed Fitbit case was 'hell'

That is absolutely insane.

If you are under federal indictment why would you get pregnant?

Usually, from sex.

 

[foggedinn]

We seem to love zealous prosecutors and abhor over-zealous prosecutors. Several of the latter have recently been scolded by several Supreme Court Justices. Given the power they wield, humility should be one of their guiding principals. Unfortunately, humble prosecutors don't advance up the ladder.

 

[SavannahMann]

Honestly, the problem is return for investment. If you spend months investigating a case, you have to have something to show for it. Or your bosses are not impressed with you wasting time and resources. So they will prosecute you for something. Even if they have to make it up. If they lose the prosecution, then at least they went down swinging. If they don’t prosecute, they went down looking, and that never impresses the boss.

Of course, we won’t do anything to change this abomination. We don’t want to look soft on crime.