Crimes that harm business versus crimes committed by business

DISCUSSION:

Which do you believe presents the greatest threat to civil society: a  corporation that commits crimes (e.g., murder, environmental crimes, or  bribery), or persons who commit crimes that harm businesses (e.g.,  embezzlement, fraud, or larceny)? Defend your response, using at least  one example from current events.

Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your  fellow students’ posts in a substantive manner. Some ways to do this  include the following, though you may choose a different approach,  providing your response is substantive:
 

Review the posts made  by your peers.   In response to your peers, first identify a  non-traditional or creative way in which a corporation might be punished  for committing a crime. Then discuss the consequences of implementing  that punishment to the example used by your peer.

I believe that the individuals who commit crimes against the business  present a higher threat to society, because they are tampering with the  products and services that are sold to consumers. This can cause  businesses to spike their prices and put customers information at risk  of getting used such as their banking information. A lot of identity  theft and computer hacking has been going on lately where companies’  financial system gets broken into and all the customers get their credit  card and checking account information stolen. Most of these individuals  picked up computer tampering skills through information technology by  way of school and on their job.

Some would even believe that people who kill, rob, and conduct  unlawful sexual acts are the ones who spend years in prison because they  are violent crimes. However, nonviolent crimes such as fraud can be  considered a “first-degree felony: Punishable by death or imprisonment  from 15 years to life, or by a fine of up to $250,000” (Seaquist, 2012,  p. 6.2). About 2 months ago, there was an Equifax breach that uncovered  millions of consumers identity and fiscal information. “That means that  the personal information— Social Security numbers, credit card numbers,  addresses, driver’s license numbers, and birth dates—of roughly half of  the U.S. population was likely compromised.” (Grau, 2017, p. 16). The  victims of these crimes get their bank accounts wiped out and their  credit ruined, making it hard for them to survive.

References

Grau, D. (2017). Equifax was hacked. Now what? Journal of financial planning, 30(11), 16-19.

Seaquist, G. (2012). Business law for managers. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ (Links to an external site.)

Crime  is one thing that has always been and probably will always be. Seaquist  defined crime as “A wrong as defined by state or federal statute”  (Seaquist, 2012, Glossary). Crime is categorized into three separate  classes: felonies, misdemeanors, and violations. Crime has existed in  civil life and business life. To answer the question as to which is the  greatest threat, I would say that crime committed by businesses ranks  highest. Business crimes include fraud of any kind, electronic hacking,  murder, embezzlement, bribes, and business larceny, money laundering,  etc. to name a few. The reason as to which business crimes are greater  in intensity is because they affect more people. People who commit  crimes, once caught, will be reprimanded for their actions and the  crimes will more than likely cease, although the effects are still  evident and have to be resolved. The crimes end up costing businesses  extra money due to fraud. The government is able to investigate these  crimes and punish as the law permits. Although no company is exempt from  this type of crime, but companies can be proactive and maintain a  strong controls department and proper training to identify fraud.

Caterpillar, heavy machinery maker, did not fully comply with the tax  and finance reporting of the USA. They failed to report their profits  of close to 8 billion from Switzerland but rather reported them as  loans. The result was “Caterpillar shares were down 3% in premarket  trading following The Times’ report” (Oyedele, 2017, para. 6). Tax  evasion and fraud seem to be one of the most common crimes by  individuals and companies, maybe for the ease of it. Who knows!

Oyedele, A. (2017). Caterpillar slides following a report that accused it of tax and accounting fraud. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/caterpillar-tax-accounting-fraud-law-report-2017-3

Seaquist, G. (2012). Business law for managers [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/