Environmental crime
History of the case
According to Carole (1998), in a course of over forty years, PG&E, the largest utility company in California, was dumping toxic waste in Hinkley’s unlined ponds. PG&E was dumping toxic chemical Hexavalent Chromium, also known as Chrome 6, which is a lethal toxic chemical. The town of Hinkley experienced great number of deaths.Both people and animals died due to respiratory illnesses and various forms of cancers. Chrome 6 was used in the companies cooling towers as an anti-corrosion agent. The water contaminated by the chemical collected in the unlined ponds eventually seeped into the underground water. Chrome 6 is fatal as it may penetrate the body through ingestion, inhalation, and absorption. Erin Brockovich, a young Los Angeles lawyer, discovers evidence that the company knew the effects of the pollution but hid it to local residents. She made steps to move to court with 600 plaintiffs. (Stephen, Henry and Robert, 2010)
Social economic status of the offender
According to Asimov, (2006), In California, PG&E is the large utility company, which has strong financial capabilities. It was able to settle out of court where it paid $333 million in terms of damages.
Penalties imposed
In the case, the 600 plaintiffs with advice of their lawyer Erin Brockovich decided to use alternative dispute resolution method of arbitration with dealing with PG&E. The judges made an arbitral award in favor of the plaintiffs. According to Koscielski, (2010) PG&E paid for damages accounting to $333 million. The company was ordered to clean up the contaminated site. Moreover, the use of Chrome 6 was prohibited.
The penalty was justified that the victims of the pollution were granted relief and despite the fact that nothing could be done regarding the contamination in past events, the court ordered the sites to be cleaned and the use of chrome to be stopped. This is supposed to protect the future of the people of Hinkley and grant them a form of relief in monetary terms.
Policy to combat environmental crimes
The EPA is a statutory body that is charged with the responsibility of combating environmental crimes. It is not able to serve its purpose due to limitations in terms of personnel and funding. However, despite the stringent environmental laws present in the US, they do not apply in isolation unless a lawyer enforces such law. (Van Voorst,1993). It is essential that personal injury lawyers are encouraged to work hand in hand with the EPA, as they are the only tools available in making the polluting companies pay for their atrocities. (Marzulla, Roger and Kappel, Brett, 2001)
Analysis of the punishment of environmental law criminals
In the case of Dupoint Company, which was contaminating the Ohio River town with a toxic substance, known as Teflon, its effects were so much severe that they managed to reach the rural towns of China. The company was charged for concealing the information regarding the cancerous effects of the chemical that made Teflon. The company paid 60,000 residents of West Virginia and Ohio an amount of $300 million each. (Riesel and Daniel. 2003)
The punishment imposed to these companies was appropriate. This is because despite the fact that money may not serve as the best form of achieving justice for the already affected people, it provides relief to the victims
Embezzlement and Fraud
History of the case
In the year 1997, at a US district court, a 39 year old man was charged with embezzling sixty two million dollars from Day-Lee Foods Inc, a meat processing company in California. Yasuyoshi Kato, the chief financial officer, was charged for embezzlement of funds from the companies accounts. On the other hand, Day-Lee foods did not agree with information regarding the amount Kato had embezzled. According to County of Solano Office of the Auditor-Controller, (2009), the company estimated that Kato had embezzled $85 to $95 million dollars from the company. Kato withdrew money from companies account and deposited into his personal accounts. The company claimed restitution of $95 million and sued Kato in a civil action.
Socio-economic status of Kato
The gains he got from such embezzlement were used to maintain his lavish lifestyle that consisted of luxury homes, a citrus ranch of 250 acres, jewelry, luxurious vehicles as well as exotic animals. His wife, Doria Anne Beiler Hozumi, according to Kato, was to blame due to her insatiable nature.
Penalties imposed
The perpetrator, Yasuyoshi Kato, was sentenced to prison for 63 months. This was the maximum guideline of making such sentence at the time. It was followed by five years probation after the imprisonment.
Policy to combat embezzlement of funds
There is no policy to protect businesses from such kinds of embezzlement. In the case of Day lee Foods, the effects of book keeping fraud and financial fraud, prevention and mitigation may be sought through outsourcing bookkeeping. This is because outsourcing bookkeeping is provides a safer environment and a cost effective option. (County of Solano Office of the Auditor-Controller. 2009)
Analysis of the punishment of white-collar criminals
The analysis will be based on two cases, which white-collar crime was perpetuated and the offenders convicted by a court of law. The cases to be considered are Tenens Corp/Ayer estate v Doorly and PBS&J Corp v William Scott Deloach.
In the case of Tenens Corp/Ayer estate v Doorly, the accused was the chief operating officer of the late Frederick Ayers, a Boston area industrialist. Doorly managed the assets of Ayers heirs, who were about 100. However, Doorly was looting assets out Ayers heir’s trust, which he was responsible of maintaining. This had gone on for about 7 years before he was discovered in 2006. In 2009, he was indicted with 12 counts of mail fraud, as well as 4 counts of money laundering. He was charged with federal fraud charges. The charges entailed forfeiture of $20 million as well as property and other assets. In December 2009, Doorly pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 17 and half years in prison. (Marquet, 2011).
In the case of PBS&J Corp v William Scott Deloach, the accused was the chief financial officer and controller for the PBS&J Corp. The company is based in Miami, Florida and deals with engineering and construction services. A complaint filed by the SEC of embezzling that took placed between 1992 and 2005, revealed that three persons (Deloach and two co-conspirators) issued unauthorized checks from the disbursement account of the company. They would then deposit the funds in their personal accounts. The two co-conspirators also pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charge. Deloach faced a sentence of ninety-seven months of imprisonment. On the other hand, the two co-conspirators were faced with sixty-three months imprisonment. All the guilty parties were forced to pay for restitution. (Marquet, 2011).
The fines and the punishments are well justified in both cases. This is because the fines, which include the orders of restitution, may not be capable of entirely reimbursing the victimized businesses and individuals. The courts, however, protect the innocent party and provide relief in terms of damages. Imprisonment, on the other hand, serves as the best form of punishments in such cases. This is because it secludes the offender from the public as he is a potential threat to the societies well-being.
Differences of white-collar crime from other traditional crimes
White-collar crimes differ from other types of crimes because the perpetrators of the white-collar crimes are people of high social status and respectability. The crime is also unique because it is performed in the course of one’s occupation. (George,2004).
Ethical and professional behavior in the workplace
Both ethic and professional behavior are fundamental in any business. This is because white-collar crimes are rampant today due to the speed and ease of movements of currency as well as relative size of organizations. With ethical and professional behaviors, the loopholes in the organization’s financial systems that provide ample environment for embezzlement will not be exploited for personal gain as embezzlements and cases of fraud.
References
Asimov,. M.(2006). Now For The Heroic Paralegal: Erin Brockovich, Web.
Carole D,(1998) Brockovich (Anderson v Pacific Gas & Electric),. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
County of Solano Office of the Auditor-Controller. (2009) Fraud Prevention and Detection Guide: Web.
George M. (2004),. “White-Collar Crime.” Community Development Journal 23, : 258–265
Koscielski G,.(2010) Environmental Law. New York, NY: Web.
Marquet,.T (2011). The Top 10 Embezzlement Cases in Modern US History. Boston, Massachusetts: Web.
Marzulla, Roger J. and Kappel, Brett G. (2001).Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide: Criminal Liability for Violations of Environmental Statutes in the 1990s. Columbia Journal of Environmental Law 16,: 203-214
Riesel, Daniel. (2003) “Criminal Prosecution and Defense of Environmental Wrongs.” Environmental Law. Center City,: Hazelden.
Stephen R., Henry P., and Robert T.(2010) Profit Without Honor: White-Collar Crime and the Looting of America, Fifth Edition, Pearson: Prentice Hall.
Van Voorst,.(1993).Toxic Dumps: The Lawyers’ Money Pit. Times, vol,13,: 63-64