Sigh. What happened to her was terrible. But I would have just taken the deal to get the Ph.D. Yes, it's theft, it's a year of work lost. But we live in an unjust world. If you have physical property stolen, sometimes you just have to take the loss and move on.

There was never an effective course for justice for her. Grad students are the least powerful group at universities, she's a woman. Single digit millionaires have no effective access to the legal system, especially in IP cases. She would have done better to take the hit, get into a faculty position, and eventually respond from a position of power.

I feel sorry for her, but unfortunately we're stranded on this planet amongst the rest of our species.