In recent years DOJ and SEC prosecutors have adopted a new, more lenient approach toward business organizations engaged in wrongful conduct according to a recent New York Times article. This is evidenced by the increased use of non-prosecution and deferred prosecution agreements as well as reports of investigations. The trend may account for the lack of prosecutions following the market crisis according to the article by Gretchen Morgenson and Louise Story in the Thursday, July 7, New York Times. To reach this conclusion the article mixes, matches and misinterprets events. Perhaps more fundamentally it misses the key point – these are tools to encourage cooperation to speed investigations and resolve a case once the inquiry is complete. Whether more market crisis cases will be brought is a function of the facts, not these tools.
Read more: DID THE DOJ AND THE SEC GO SOFT ON BUSINESS CRIME? – SEC ACTIONS — SEC Actions
