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I believe a corporation that commits crimes is a greater threat to society than a person who commits crimes that harm businesses. Corporations that commit crimes have a great deal of power to affect a large group of people on a very large scale. If a person commits a crime of fraud against a company this is damaging, but not usually at a societal level. When corporations commit crime, it is on a much larger scale and has a much bigger ripple effect. Commercial bribery is one crime that can be very damaging to civil society. “It is a misdemeanor in most states to solicit, accept, or agree to accept anything of value in exchange for violating a duty of fidelity owed to one’s employer, client, or company as an employee, officer of a corporation, partner, trustee, guardian, or member of a profession” (Seaquist, 2012, section 6.5). 

One example of this is the recent events that took place in the College Admissions Case involving numerous high-profile citizens who were involved in a bribery scandal to get their children into college. The case is still ongoing, with some of the defendants receiving sentences of jail time, and some not. The CEO of the corporation that led the scheme, William Singer, was the culprit of the scandal, which he fully admits to, and he faces up to 65 years in prison and a $125 million dollar fine. (Goggin, 2019, para. 43)  The parents of over thirty-three college applicants admittedly paid Singer to fraudulently change, mark-up, and inflate their child’s test scores on tests such as SAT and ACT to help their children get into the school that they wanted to get into. Employees at some Universities are also allegedly involved, as well as coaches and testing proctors. The number of people involved is over 50. 

This situation poses a threat to society because it calls to question the college testing and admissions process that we have in place in society, and whether there needs to be more regulations and audits of the testing centers, as well as the admissions processes. It also makes one question how many others have done this; whose test scores are legitimate and whose are tampered with? This crime caused issues of authenticity for all test scores for all students that tested in Singer’s testing centers in the past. Civil society is threatened when corporate crime like this is committed because it creates questions for society as to the integrity of the accomplishments of the wealthy. Did they really work their way to the top, or pay their way there? This creates a divide. In a statement made by CEO of NACAC, Joyce Smith, she states “The problems associated with wealth and privilege in our country have been well understood and require comprehensive solutions that focus not only on educational inequities but also extend well outside higher education. Our hope is that this extreme case will inspire discussion among stakeholders across our country, including policymakers, university presidents, administrators, and others, about fairness and equity in higher education in general and the college admission process in particular” (Hawkins, 2019, p.15). This type of crime impacts society because it is adding to the already very prevalent issues in society.

 References Goggin,B. (2019). Meet the accused ringleader of the massive college-admissions scandal, William ‘Rick’ Singer, the owner of Edge College & Career Network. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/william-rick-singer-the-accused-ringleader-college-admissions-scandal-2019-3  Hawkins, D. (2019). OPERATION VARSITY BLUES: Where We Are Now. Journal of College Admission, (244), 15–17. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=137174076&site=eds-live&scope=site Seaquist, G. (2012). Business law for managers [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ 

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Crime, in general, places the greatest threat to civil society. Sunday Adelaja (2016), a prominent evangelist, stated that “justice suffers when men refuse to stand firm for what is right. If we do not fight lawlessness, it prevails.” (para. 9) In a society, as great as the United States is, can not afford criminal activity in any form, whether it is victimless crimes by professional corporations or tragedies such as murder, rape, or burglary. However, regardless of criminal activity, offenses against the society that create victims are far worst than offenses such as bribery.

 For example, Johnson & Johnson, a multi-product health and pharmaceutical manufacturing company was caught in a lawsuit in which their products were shown to significantly contribute to major health issues in their users.

           “Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest health care company, has been able to              slide by on its benign reputation as the purveyor of bandaids, talcum powder,                and baby shampoo.  But several scandals in the last few years have tattered                  that image. The biggest one involves over 24,000 women around the world                    who have sued the company after suffering serious complications following a              vaginal mesh implant procedure.” (Global Exchange, 2018, para. 22)

 In this case, a corporation that commits crimes is far worse than a person who commits crimes against a business. In the situation described above, Johnson & Johnson, a well-respected company, did its very best to conceal concerning facts about their product when this product’s implantation resulted in harsh side effects in over 24,000 women. Hiding behind a reputation to distribute faulty products to innocent victims to gain more profit is an evil business model and should not be tolerated in any society. 

 Reference: Global Exchange Staff. (2018, November 23). Ten Top Corporate Criminals of 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://globalexchange.org/2018/11/23/ten-top-corporate-criminals-of-2018/#Core.