Why Dan Price Has Avoided Fallout… So Far
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All too often we see bad people do bad things, get away with it and do more bad things. Then we scratch our heads and wonder how that happened.
I don’t scratch my head anymore. I simply call it as I see it. And the way I see it, Dan Price is a near perfect example of systemic failures.
As millions know, Price stormed television sets and stages after he set a minimum wage of $70,000 for all employees at his Seattle-based credit card processing company, Gravity Payments.
At the height of raging wage fights, Price’s timing was impeccable… or more likely dubious.
Almost six years ago, I explored a documentary about how his plan would play out. After taking a deeper look, I asserted that Price appeared to be a world-class charlatan with a penchant for proselytizing to Millennials.
The more he convinced the world to pay attention, the faster Price went from slick, buttoned up go-getter to unabashed Jesus look-alike.
Contrary to what some folks might believe, I don’t actually care much about Dan Price the person. What fascinates if not confounds me is actually the universe that hoisted him on its shoulders.
Scores adopted his blather without a shred of actual proof that Price was holding up his end of the bargain.
There is no better playground for narcissistic personality disorder than that which bears no bounds.
The only twist, and I find it rather brilliant, is that Price is somehow able to publicly pose as a polar opposite of narcissism. He deftly plays the parts of both diviner and provider.
And when I say “scores,” I largely mean the media machine, both newsroom and social, that handed Price millions of plastic cups into which they encouraged him to pour as much contaminated Kool-Aid as fast and as often as he pleased.
It gave me no pleasure whatsoever to pull the curtain back on the purported charade. Incidentally, it didn’t actually take that long to do so. I tracked down a host of lawsuits, spoke with sources and vetted documents.
That’s called journalism 101.
It’s the kind of fundamental work that my university reinforced during my grad studies. It’s also what your average beat reporter should do. Hell, it’s what most people should expect if not demand from local paper or global news group.
However, expectations and realizations are too often rare bedfellows.
I have explained to newsrooms — from the New York Times to Bloomberg to Forbes to Inc. Magazine to Entrepreneur Magazine to Esquire to the Seattle Times to NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, et al. — precisely how Price executed ostensible business fraud for years. Apparently, it’s how he built his business in the first place.
I have provided a copious volume of documents — otherwise known as corroborating evidence — that illustrated what a gifted snake oil salesman he is.
I have spoken with and reviewed documents from people on the other side of Price’s alleged abuse, including ex-employees who detailed incidents of his workplace rampages, his ex-wife who alleges barbaric domestic violence and now two women who alleged rape.
I have spoken with a journalist who said, “I got PTSD from Price because I reported something that was true and he harassed me for a year about it.”
I have reported about how Price and his employees worked a scheme with other “journalists” at Inc. Magazine to demand favorable coverage.
I recently received a call from a member of a well-known Seattle organization who said, “Price is a psychopath… he harasses people and won’t stop.”
In fact, since 2015, I have received eerily similar sound bytes ad nauseam.
And yet here we are. It’s a familiar road with familiar detours that have led to yet more catastrophic consequences instead of the widespread delivery of the truth.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit that these recent rape allegations haunt me. If only I had done this or that to further convince people to publicly come forward years ago. And although it is not a journalist’s job to stave off potential events, journalists have hearts and consciences... and obligations to forewarn.
My conscience got the better of me this time around. Perhaps I should not say I believe the alleged survivors. But I do believe in the power of obvious patterns shored up by proof.
This Dan Price story symbolizes why victims of abuse do not report their experiences. Systems are crippled with bias, largely perpetuated by men.
Too many of us seek cracks in a survivor’s story — she sent mixed signals; she should have left; look at her, she puts herself out there; he is a good person incapable of a monstrous act. And the list goes on.
Yes, women are also capable of monstrous acts, but by dramatically fewer numbers.
So, here are the really important numbers.
Research shows that less than 5% of rape allegations are false.
Research shows that less than 20% of rape cases lead to an arrest.
Research shows that roughly 6-7 percent of domestic violence allegations are false.
Research shows that prosecutors have dropped or judges have dismissed 60-90% of domestic violence allegations, depending on the state.
These alleged rape cases against Price might very well be more of the same. Palm Springs police admitted to tabling the case for months. They admitted to not returning the alleged victim’s calls. They admitted that they did not properly manage the timely processing of sexual assault exam properties. They admitted that they have not spoken with Price.
The alleged victims are exasperated, depressed, pretending to appear normal while their minds ring with suffering, they said.
Meanwhile, Price continues to field media inquiries and preach about the evils of rich folks. In fact, he did so on the very day of the alleged rape.
Most recently, CBS Mornings ran a 5-minute feature on him.
Oh, and we should remember that Dan Price is a rich guy too. By the looks of things though, he acquired those riches the good old fashioned way — he apparently stole them.
A source said that Price has now apparently hired an attorney to do what attorneys do — convince cops, district attorneys and even the public that there is nothing to see here.
The fact is, there is plenty to see here.
You have an ex-wife who will stand by her allegations of Price’s barbaric physical abuse.
You have two women who will stand by their allegations of rape.
You have a woman who publicly said Price accosted her and stole her property.
You have anonymous employees who said they were victimized by or witnesses of Price’s workplace abuse, any of whom can be approached for questioning.
You have a Seattle police arrest record that details how Price abused bar patrons.
You have multiple civil lawsuits that detail actions against him for fraud-adjacent reasons.
You have an abundance of documents that prove how Price apparently abused the industry in which he operates and thereby jeopardized thousands of unsuspecting small businesses in the process.
Despite this and more, how long must we wait until we read another report of alleged rape or worse?
After all, if someone with serially abominable behavior is granted a green light to perpetrate abuse over and over and over again, why would that someone worry about change or boundaries?
Price has never agreed to speak with me. Maybe he thinks I am a worthless blogger.
I am not. I am a reporter. Newsrooms are currently fueled by more anxiety and less money than ever. I can do what I need to do without any of that. Although, I am more than willing to work with a CBS or a New York Times to get this job done.
I am also capable enough to know the difference between darkness and light, fluffy sound bytes and substantive information.
If Price has nothing to fear from me, why did he change his apparently fraudulent business policies after I revealed them?
If Price has nothing to fear from me, why did he address my allegations by publicly imploring his devotees to disregard them without explanation?
If Price has nothing to fear from me, why doesn’t he tell me, using these exact words, he never beat his now ex-wife, and her domestic abuse allegations are nothing but lies.
If Price has nothing to fear from me, why doesn’t he tell me, using these exact words, he never abusively treated his employees?
And if Price has nothing to fear from me, why doesn’t he tell me why he felt it necessary to go to the Ace Hotel front desk to tell them a story about having sex with his date?
[By all accounts, doing such a thing is probably as rare an occurrence at a hotel front desk as it is to spot a red wolf or a white whale.]
And finally, why not simply say — publicly — I never raped or abused these women. They are liars.
One more note about why victims don’t report…
How many times must we hear how media outlets bury abuse-related stories that disfavor them?
Can we talk about Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer and NBC?
Can we talk about Michael Corn and Mark Halperin and ABC?
Can we talk about Les Moonves and Charlie Rose and CBS?
Can we talk about Michael Oreskes and NPR?
Can we talk about Roy Price and Amazon?
Can we talk about Glenn Thrush and The New York Times?
Can we talk about Roger Ailes and FOX?
I have been clear in the past about my grave concerns over media outlets that automatically anoint people like Price without proper vetting.
And while I am by no means a victim here, myriad media outlets have dismissed my reporting because I do not have a name badge with a news group on it. I have been told as much, numerous times.
These same media outlets, many of which continue to recharge Price’s propeller, do not realize that the real victim is courage.
Women have courageously come forward to accuse Price of felonies punishable by long-term jail sentences. What in the world could they possibly gain from doing so?
They must live their nightmare over and again. They must navigate increasingly cruel social media judges and jurists. And they certainly understand that legal odds are traditionally not in their favor.
I have come forward, as an independent investigative reporter, to place their stories on a public platter. Perhaps the least any one of these newsrooms can do is what I did — basic journalism.
I have been crystal clear that as long as a newsroom recognizes the work that I have done to report a story — a story that has actually pursued me over a number of years, not the contrary — isn’t it at least worth co-reporting the fact that a man known far and wide as the beneficent $70K CEO is being accused of rape after being accused of domestic violence after being accused of multi-million dollar business fraud?
It would be good if we could all agree that the facts and chips can thereafter fall where they may.
I would also be good if we could all agree that courageous survivors of alleged abuse must finally receive the due process they deserve.