Enron says consu8lting firm not correcting faulty payments to ex-workersJuan A. Lozano
HOUSTON (AP) – Enron Corp. told a federal judge Friday it continues to be stonewalled in its attempts to fix a computer error that resulted in more than 20,000 former workers being overpaid or underpaid during the initial payment of a lawsuit settlement over retirement funds lost during the company’s collapse.Last year, former Enron workers received about $89 million, the first payment that is part of a lawsuit settlement over money they lost through Enron’s employee stock ownership and 401(k) retirement plans.But nearly $22 million of the initial payment was miscalculated because of a software glitch that was the fault of Hewitt Associates, a company Enron hired to be the fund administrator and allocate the settlement proceeds, said John Strasburger, a lawyer for Enron, now known as Enron Creditors Recovery Corp.For the entire article go to topix.net
We all remember the Enron debacle, where a significant portion of the company’s executive force mistakenly believed they had a license to steal. They didn’t, and some went to jail and paid large fines. Sarbannes Oxley went into effect and much white collar crime is referred to as Enron type crime. Like bad fish and old garbage, it still stinks to high heaven.
Corra has a theory about the deterrent value of corporal punishment administered to those who commit white collar crimes or betray the public trust. Corra realizes that it’s more of a pipe dream than a theory, but the specter of public embarrassment would go a long way it giving corrupt officials and thieving executives a whole lot of pause. But Corra digresses.
The reality is there will always be white collar crimes. We have enough greedy souls who will bend the law and then break it in their own best interests. These executives are the last thing you need in your business. They will cause you embarrassment and loss of business, if not the business itself. See Enron.
That is why when hiring people in your financial department it is so important to run a very comprehensive background check. Among the other searches, it is important to run the Federal Criminal and Federal Civil searches to check them out for white collar malfeasance. A credit report is also very important.
Don’t mess with your financial department. Having a thief there is far too risky. For a few bucks find out if he really is who he says he is. Check them out before you hire.
