WorldCom and Reliant Should be Charged With Felonies Essay

WorldCom and Reliant Should be Charged With Felonies - Essay Example With respect to the USDOJ's definition of corporate crime, in the case of Reliant Energy and WorldCom, the companies were liable for the actions of its officers due to a failure to prevent their actions and allowing a culture that promoted the illegal activity. In the case of Bernie Ebbers, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which he was not aware of the dealings of his subordinates. In addition , he did nothing to affect the methods that WorldCom did business. He had no system in place for oversight or compliance and this placed the corporation as guilty as its officers. As the DOJ has indicated, "management is responsible for a corporate culture in which criminal conduct is either discouraged or tacitly encouraged' (USDOJ, 22003). This was further exacerbated by the WorldCom CEO's insistence on his innocence and refusal to be totally forthcoming in the matter. If there was not a willingness to cooperate, the corporation should be charged as if it was an individual for securities fraud, and filing false reports. Throughout the trial, the defense, "contended that Mr. Ebbers was in the dark about the fraud" and "Ebbers denied discussing any element of the fraud with Mr. Sullivan" (Belsen, 2005).