Ethisphere Blog - Good. Smart. Business. Profit. : Ethics

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Ethics Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Ethics

Ethisphere Blog - Good. Smart. Business. Profit.

The Ethisphere Blog offers an insightful and comedic look at the news and commentary from the world of ethics and compliance.

Post Frequency: 1.5/day

Last Entry: February 25, 2011 at 14:39:43

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft?s Firm Earns No-Bid Deal from New Jersey Federal Prosecutor

Posted on January 11, 2008
Joining private life hasn?t saved former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft from public scrutiny. He’s back in the spotlight after New Jersey top prosecutor Christopher Christie recently gave Mr. Ashcroft?s consulting firm, the Ashcroft Group, the contract to monitor a settlement between Zimmer Holdings, a medical supply company, and the Department of Justice...

Singapore Exterminator Exchanges ?All the Best? Wishes with Competitors, then Fined for Bid-Rigging

Posted on January 10, 2008
This week, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) issued its first ever bid-rigging fine to six pest control firms. The companies were found guilty of coordinating their bids for six extermination contracts and rotating which firm would offer the lowest...

Lockheed Martin Agrees to pay $2.5 Million for Racial Discrimination

Posted on January 08, 2008
Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced one of the largest settlements ever in an individual case. It went against (if you can call a settlement ?against?) Lockheed Martin, forcing the company to pay $2.5 million for knowingly looking the other way on alleged racial discrimination...

What do you Call Taking 1,000 Chinese Government Officials on Vacation?

Posted on January 04, 2008
Bribery, according to the DOJ. Lucent technologies helped wrap up a DOJ investigation on Tuesday by agreeing to pay $1 million for FCPA violations. From 2000 to 2003 the company reportedly spent over $10 million on about 315 various trips for approximately 1,000 Chinese government officials...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Californian Sues Staples and HP Over Price-Fixing

Posted on December 21, 2007
Staples and HP have been sued by a California man, who accuses the two of price-fixing. Ranjit Bedi claims that HP approached Staples, asking that the company stop selling third party ink cartridges for HP printers. In turn, Bedi claims, Staples was given over $100 million in market development funds to only sell HP [...

Hollywood Couple is Charged for FCPA Violations

Posted on December 21, 2007
A new case this week proves that the FCPA doesn?t just cover the back offices of large, powerful businesses. Even individuals and small businesses can and will be prosecuted for violations. Gerald Green, a Hollywood producer, and his wife Patricia were arrested for allegedly bribing a Thai official as much as $1...

The UK Warns of Potential Security Threat from Chinese-Sponsored Hackers

Posted on December 11, 2007
Jonathan Evans, the head of the UK’s MI5, recently sent a letter out to 300 British business leaders warning them to be wary of a possible Chinese espionage attack. Since then, the UK’s Times has reported that both Rolls-Royce and Shell have already been hit by “sustained spying assaults” from Chinese government-backed hackers...

Update: Conrad Black?s Sentence Comes In

Posted on December 11, 2007
conradblack.jpgConvicted of defrauding Hollinger International last July, Canadian-turned-British media mogul Conrad Black was sentenced yesterday to six and a half years in prison, fined $125,000 and forced to forfeit $6.1 million dollars. Mr. Black, aka Lord Black of Crossharbour, was allowed to keep his Florida home despite prosecutors’ requests to the contrary...

Former United Health CEO to Forfeit $620 Million

Posted on December 10, 2007
William McGuire, former CEO of United Health, agreed to give back about $620 million to resolve a government investigation into whether or not he illegally backdated millions of stock options. Sure, this is a hefty sum, but the blow is softened when considering McGuire still floated home with a billion dollar golden parachute, even [...

Upon Further Review, Stolt-Nielsen is Safe

Posted on December 05, 2007
Stolt-Nielsen’s amnesty has been reinstated and the company’s Chief Executive, Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, is “pleased” that he doesn’t have to go to jail - a fate suffered by three top brass of the company’s co-conspirators in a 2002 antitrust case...

Target Aims to Eliminate PVC from Several Product Lines

Posted on November 16, 2007
Target became the most recent retail company in the United States to announce it would end the use of polyvinyl chloride (more commonly known as PVC) in some of the products it sells, most notably children’s paraphernalia like eating utensils and lunch boxes...

Neelie Kroes is Fighting Around the World

Posted on November 14, 2007
She’s mad as hell and she’s not going to take it anymore…and now she’s going to “fight like hell” to do something about it. Apparently a record-breaking fine of $1.3 billion against elevator cartels didn’t get the message across as clear as she’d like (note: fines levied against cartels could be as steep as [...

Brit Wins First Ever Discrimination Claim for Being ?Too Young?

Posted on November 14, 2007
Yesterday, an Employment Tribunal in the UK ruled on the country’s first employment discrimination case involving a worker fired for being too young. The Tribunal sided with 20-year-old Megan Thomas, a former membership secretary at the Eight Members Club in London...

DHB Industries? Former CEO Indicted by the DOJ

Posted on November 06, 2007
David Brooks, the former CEO of DHB Industries, was recently indicted by the Department of Justice for insider trading, fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion. Even after all those charges, the most gripping piece of information is what Brooks allegedly spent company money on, including $101,500 on an armored vehicle for himself and [...

Oil Spill Fines Come Through for BP and ConocoPhillips Subsidiary

Posted on October 26, 2007
Two major settlements relating to oil spills were reached this week. Polar Tankers, a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, was fined $2.5 million dollars for an oil spill in the Pacific Ocean in 2004. A criminal penalty represented $500,000 of the fine, and the other $2 million went to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a nonprofit [...

Johnson & Johnson Settles the Latest in Ortho Evra Related Death Suits

Posted on October 25, 2007
Johnson & Johnson recently agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle allegations that its Ortho Evra birth control patch was responsible for the death of a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl. Just two weeks ago, J&J settled a separate lawsuit over a death allegedly caused by the patch as well...

Companies Not Always Recognized for ?Green? Efforts

Posted on October 24, 2007
A new study discovered that U.S. and U.K. consumers want businesses to be more environmentally friendly, but have a hard time naming specific companies focusing on the issue. However, the study discovered a number of “big brands” in each country that are recognized for climate-change awareness more than others...

Hormel Sues Campbell over Misrepresentation of ?Stew?

Posted on October 24, 2007
Although this story is unique in and of itself, more interesting is what it brought to light: there are actually federal guidelines in place for what constitutes a “stew.” The USDA outlines the official government recipe for beef stew with language that seems better suited for a Monty Python sketch...

Rude Awakening for Cisco Systems When Over 600 Federal Agents Knocked on the Door

Posted on October 19, 2007
Cisco employees in Brazil got a surprise when over 600 federal police and tax officers, armed with over 90 different subpoenas, stormed Cisco System’s Brazilian operations earlier this week. Their target was any information regarding the company’s alleged tax evasion, dodging an estimated $826 million...

Ongoing Price Fixing Scandal ends with Pratt?s Admission of Guilt

Posted on October 18, 2007
A major, two-year investigation into an alleged price fixing scheme in the land down under came to a close on Tuesday after Richard Pratt, Australia’s third richest man, admitted his role in the whole thing. What started as a hotel lunch in 2000 between Pratt, chairman of Visy, and Russel Jones, former CEO of [...

SEC Steps up FCPA Enforcement and International Companies Feel the Burn

Posted on October 17, 2007
While Neelie Kroes and the hard-hitting men and women of the European Commission are busy bruising up large corporations with fines for antitrust violations, it seems the United States is involved in its own crackdown. They’re on a mission to remind everyone that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act doesn’t just apply to American companies, [...

Former LDK Solar Co. Employee Blows Whistle On ?Inconsistent? Finances

Posted on October 17, 2007
The major finance and business media missed this, but it’s big all the same. Ethisphere has learned that several days ago a former financial staff member of the Chinese company, LDK Solar Co. Ltd, has sent letters to company management alleging that he was terminated last month as financial controller because [...

Swedish Policeman Avoids Donuts, Goes Straight for the Savory Tart

Posted on October 17, 2007
Okay, we love this story. Corruption is rampant in Sweden as police officer demands fruitcake in exchange for solving case of the missing trombone! Ethisphere readers know all about the pervasive problems of bribery and corruption in hotspots around the world such as China (bad), Russia (badder) and Nigeria (baddest)...

Related Law Bulletins

New Baptist Covenant Blog
Last week, I pointed to the New Baptist Convenant website, now onl...

The Mexico Trucker Blog
I've written before about the perceived problems with relaxed rest...

Zyprexa on Trial in Alaska: Lilly Accused of Putting Profit Before Patients
Anchorage, AK: Spectators in a courtroom in Anchorage are getting ...