Mental Health Startup Founder Arrested In CA For “Wild Scene”

Photo: Santa Clara Sheriff

India-West News Desk

SARATOGA, CA — The founder of an online mental health company was arrested after a “wild scene in Saratoga” that unfolded at a Bay Area winery on December 6, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said the incident began when staff at the Garrod Farms Estate Winery and Stables saw 42-year-old Beri Vikram allegedly trying to start a fire on the property. When workers confronted him, he is said to have grabbed a wine bottle and hurled it, the sheriff’s office said.

Vikram then got into his Tesla and supposedly “intentionally rammed it into two parked cars,” an impact that sent one vehicle over an embankment. His own car followed over the edge, where deputies found him.

According to the sheriff’s office, Vikram refused to get out of the Tesla. After “several de-escalation attempts,” deputies used pepperball rounds and spray “to force him out of the car.” Vikram eventually crawled out and was taken to a hospital for evaluation before being booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

He faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.

Vikram, an entrepreneur from Menlo Park, founded BetterLYF Wellness, an online mental health counseling platform, in 2016. He also serves as Executive Director of Business Development at global farm equipment manufacturer Fieldking and previously worked as a consultant at Deloitte. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois and later earned an MBA in marketing and strategy from the Indian School of Business.