Huh, what?

"In one instance, after a crucial business loan was denied, he took the company's last $5,000 to Las Vegas and won $27,000 gambling on blackjack to cover the company's $24,000 fuel bill."

"Embezzlement is the fraudulent taking of property by someone to whom it was entrusted, usually involving theft from a business or employer."

I mean I suppose you could try to make some argument that it was an officially sanctioned company act, but that's definitely some post facto rationalization.

"’The meeting with the General Dynamics board was a bust and I knew we needed money for Monday, so I took a plane to Las Vegas and won $27,000.’ I said, ‘You mean you took our last $5,000-- how could you do that?’ He shrugged his shoulders"

Sounds both unsanctioned and sociopathic to me.

And not Fred's first or last brush with financial malfeasance, indicted for forgery over a $2 million loan from his family's trust fund.

I'm inclined to think 'selfish' much more than 'plucky startup founder'.