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Protection of corporate criminals must stop

With the announcement of new rules that make prosecuting individuals in a company easier, the Justice Department is helping to prevent a problem that has plagued investigations for years.

In numerous cases, corporate criminals have been able to protect themselves from conviction by hiding behind their companies.

The creation of these policies reinforces a belief held by many that corporate wrongdoings are the fault of people, not an entity.

Through the promise of improved settlements, corporations will now be incentivized to turn over individual employees.

As stated by Matt Apuzzo and Ben Protess of the New York Times in their cover story “Justice Department Sets Sights on Wall Street Executives,” very few of the criminals behind the 2008 financial crisis saw any jail time because they were never named by their companies.

Under these new rules, companies now have a reason to turn in individuals.

As a result, executives can no longer feel safe perpetrating crimes that can destroy the economy, and the lives of Americans.

Even as the Justice Department makes progress on this issue, many will be quick to argue that these rules are too late to punish the perpetrators of 2008’s financial crisis.

However, by taking the issue to task now, the Justice Department is ensuring it will be able to deal with these crimes when they inevitably happen again.

Andrew Lashinsky

Hollidaysburg

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