Continue reading Whistleblowing Provision in Financial Reform Act Could Mean Big Payouts

Whistleblowing Provision in Financial Reform Act Could Mean Big Payouts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a feature in which we wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

How does the head of one of Archer Daniels Midland's (NYSE: ADM) fastest-growing divisions, a virtual shoo-in to be the company's next president, end up embezzling $9 million dollars while simultaneously acting as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation? And how does the highest-level executive to turn whistleblower receive a sentence much harsher than those of his co-conspirators despite pleas for leniency and clemency from everyone from the FBI and the Justice Department to congressmen, university professors, and even a baseball hall-of-famer?

Sounds like the stuff of motion pictures, doesn't it? And that's exactly what this true story will be in September of 2009 with the release of The Informant, a Warner Brothers film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon as whistleblower turned felon, Mark Whitacre. The movie is based on one of several books written about the case.

When the FBI began an investigation of ADM in 1992, Whitacre admitted that he and other executives were involved in a multinational price-fixing scheme. For the next three years, he helped the FBI gather evidence. Despite that, however, Whitacre was convicted in 1998 for wire fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering. The sentence of more than 10 years in prison was considered excessive by many, given his cooperation with the investigation and the fact that he suffered from bipolar disorder (the pressure drove him to attempt suicide at one point). Whitacre served eight and half years, reportedly as a model prisoner. To this day, efforts continue to win a pardon for Whitacre.

Continue reading Financial Felons: Mark Whitacre

Financial Felons: Mark Whitacre originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toyota Motor Co.

Continue reading Toyota recalls a quarter million luxury cars as safety concerns mount

Toyota recalls a quarter million luxury cars as safety concerns mount originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this year, officers and staff of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police informed government officials of a pattern of abuse surrounding allegations and the exposure of irregularities in the administration of RCMP pension and insurance funds. Since that time, CBC News has revealed that unrelenting pressure by rank-and-file RCMP employees has caused further investigation into the matter, which has resulted in the creation of a report by David Brown, the former head of the Ontario Securities Commission.

Mr. Brown's report is said to reveal that the lower-ranking force members who complained about problems "were treated very unfairly," and that officers who complained about perceived problems with administration of the funds "faced career damage." Brown's report is clear in it's suggestion that a task force be immediately put to work righting the administrative direction of the RCMP, and Brown further hints that the administration of a $3 billion financial fund structure might be beyond the capabilities of the current administration's talent.

Administrating $3 billion in pension and insurance funds ain't just buying horse chow, ya know?

RCMP pension fund shakedown: Oh, Canada ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 17 Jun 2007 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to this story in the New York Post, GE is on the right side of what seems a pretty minor brewing scandal involving credits a Home Depot store in Maryland collected from vendors for defective merchandise (or not-so-defective as the case may be).

GE is involved because the store allegedly requested lots of so called return-to-vendor credits for defective water heaters and a GE representative complained, demanding to inspect the broken heaters before paying credits going forward. (Before the company had destroyed the heaters, according to the report).

The Post reports that a former Home Depot employee blew the whistle on allegedlly problematic credits only to be fired. He's suing and his lawsuit has become part of an informal SEC look at Home Depot.

Lesson for employers: Don't file your whistleblowers, even if you want to.

Lesson for GE shareholders: Your company is really minding the store.

GE and Home Depot seeing each other in court originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.