That's certainly one way to look at it, and perhaps if KBLB was a normal penny stock being developed in a lab in Omaha no one would care but shareholders. But KBLB is tied to Notre Dame, not only is the science being developed there but they entered into an agreement that provides ND with financial gain dependent on the degree of success that KBLB attains. Dr. Fraser and ND have already claimed success with the PNAS report, and further interviews with him have done nothing to indicate anything other than the science evolving toward pure spider silk. If Notre Dame was found to withholding information that would negatively effect their income from KBLB commercialization, then the legal implications of such actions would be very relevant to any investigation into fraudulent activities. This is absolutely the LAST thing Notre Dame would want, whether they can claim "plausible deniability" or not.
Same goes for the advisors. These are 3 very well known and respected business leaders, and their appointment to this board was celebrated and pr'd by KBLB. There has been no renunciation of their involvement as far as I know, so current investors as well as potential investors certainly are influenced by their presence as advisors in all business dealings of KBLB.
I just don't believe this can be described as a typical penny stock. The PNAS report put KBLB front and center as the leader to produce the spider silk products that have caught the interest of media, and along with both Notre Dame and the advisors supporting KBLB it raises the attention of any sort of fraudulent behavior will draw from investigators.
In the eyes of investors, Notre Dame and the appointment of the advisory board took KBLB from being "an insignificant penny stock run by one person" to a company with ties and support of both a respected university as well as business expertise second to none.
Maybe you're right, nobody but shareholders do care, but KBLB has been presented in articles in national media outlets and I find it hard to believe nobody's going to pursue wrongdoing when it occurs on that stage.
