Criminal Charges in Corporate Scandals
Abstract
Since the collapse of Enron Corp. in late 2001, there has been a series of scandals involving major U.S. corporations. Recurring elements in the scandals include improper or fraudulent accounting, self-enrichment by corporate officers, stock trading on inside information ("insider trading"), and the destruction or falsification of business records. A number of cases have resulted in criminal indictments, some followed by guilty pleas. This report tracks post-Enron criminal charges. Companies are listed alphabetically, and individuals who have been charged, indicted, or have pleaded guilty are identified. A longer list of companies with recent accounting problems (not all of which have resulted in criminal indictments) may be found in CRS Report RS2 1269, A Accounting Problems Reported in Major Companies Since Enron. The 107th Congress responded to the series of corporate scandals that began with Enron by passing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. That law created a new oversight body for corporate auditors, imposed new disclosure requirements on corporations, including a mandate that CEOs personally certify the accuracy of their firms' public financial reports, and increased criminal penalties for a number of offenses related to securities fraud.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 26, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA435429
Entities
People
- Mark Jickling
- Paul H. Janov
Organizations
- Defense Acquisition University