GE Pays $23m After Iraq Probe
Editor’s Note - Remember when General Electric was as American as apple pie? Remember the old television commercials that made you feel good about the organization? Millions of Americans invested wisely in GE’s stock back then and were rewarded handsomely for doing so.
That was then, this is now…
Today, you have to wonder if fraud and bribery are included in the company SOP, as these charges surface so frequently in relation to GE’s actions. Reading through the short list of fines and pleas of guilt listed below - by no means a complete list with just a few minutes invested on the web – it reads like a criminal enterprise!
The fine amounts may seem excessive, until you realize that the company makes billions of dollars a year. With so much money at stake, what are a few broken laws and a paltry few million dollars in fines.
Why be concerned about GE? Well, the company donates millions of dollars to the Democrat Party, the CEO of the company sits on Obama’s Economic Advisory Board and it stands to make a fortune if Cap and Trade, or whatever they’re calling it today, passes.
Oh yeah, it also owns NBC and MSNBC, the two networks that just happen to be totally in the tank for Barack Obama and the whole climate change scheme.
We don’t have to wonder too long why America is in the shape it’s in when we see such unethical behavior by our government and the major corporations in this country. There’s much work to be done…
GE Pays $23m After Iraq Probe
By Jeremy Lemer in New York and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
Financial TimesGeneral Electric has agreed to pay $23.5 million to settle allegations from US regulators that its subsidiaries bribed Iraqi officials to win contracts under the United Nations Oil for Food Programme between 2000 and 2003.
The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission is the second in as many years for GE. Last year, the company agreed to pay $50 million to resolve charges of accounting fraud relating to hedging activities in 2002 and 2003.
According to the SEC, GE violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as part of a $3.6m “kickback scheme”. Executives at two subsidiaries and two groups later bought by GE allowed agents to give Iraqi health ministry officials payments to win contracts for medical and water purification equipment, the SEC claimed.
“Bribes and kickbacks are bad business, period,” Robert Khuzami, SEC enforcement division director, said. “This case affirms that law enforcement is active across the globe. Offshore does not mean off-limits.”
Read More – http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/92f46430-999b-11df-a852-00144feab49a.html
Additional Fines and Charges against GE -
On August 4, 2009, GE settled SEC securities fraud charges by paying a fine of $50 million.
On August 7, 1998, 50 States announced a $97 million settlement agreement with General Electric Credit Corporation (GECC) for unlawful debt collection practices from consumers who declared bankruptcy, in association with private label credit cards issued together with Montgomery Ward Credit Corporation.
On September 29, 1998 General Electric agreed to a $200 million settlement in principle of environmental claims resulting from pollution of the Housatonic River and other areas by chemical releases from GE’s plant in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
On January 10, 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that GE would pay $950,000 to settle allegations that it fraudulently misrepresented that it had conducted certain test procedures on circuit boards for hundreds of aircraft engine controls when in fact the tests were not conducted.
On August 10, 1995 the U.S. Department of Justice announced that GE would pay $7.1 million to settle a contract fraud suit initiated by Ian Johnson, an engineer at GE’s Aircraft Engines plant in Evendale, Ohio in 1993.
On July 23, 1992, GE pled guilty in federal court to civil and criminal charges of defrauding the Pentagon and agreed to pay $69 million to the U.S. government in fines — one of the largest defense contracting fines ever.
GE pled guilty on May 19, 1985 to charges of fraud and falsifying 108 claims on a missile contract. GE was convicted of defrauding the Air Force out of $800,000 on the Minuteman Missile Project.
All this same kind of Money behind Obama and the present administration…, does make me wonder if we can beat this political corrupt machine ,,,, sad state of affairs our Country is in… What ever happened to men of integrity? God and Prayer that is all that can stop this madness now…..God Speed, Thanks for the article.