It wouldn't be coercion if PP simply said "You can give us the options at $0.19 OR find someone else, anyone else crazy enough to take the risks attached to trusting your company with $7 million. Too bad none of the C.C.s spelled out how tentative our future was.
On the other hand, arguing against my own interests, maybe management thought a reasonable investor would surmise that the outlandish loan terms we accepted were all a "cautious" investor needed, by way of red flags.