NEC Unit Admits It Defrauded Schools

By MATT RICHTEL and GARY RIVLIN

Published: May 28, 2004

AN FRANCISCO, May 27 - Criminal investigations into corruption and waste in the E-Rate program, a federal plan to bring Internet access to poor schools and libraries, yielded their biggest legal settlement to date on Thursday. NEC Business Network Solutions, a subsidiary of NEC, the computer giant, agreed to plead guilty to two federal felony counts, one for wire fraud and one for antitrust violation, and to pay $20.7 million in fines and restitution.

The settlement, announced in federal court in San Francisco, comes amid increasing scrutiny of the multibillion-dollar E-Rate program. Congressional hearings on the program may be held as early as next month, according to Congressional staff members. Lawyers involved in the case said there were likely to be additional, and even larger, settlements with other technology vendors.

"This is just one piece of a nationwide scheme that is all coming to light," said Eric R. Havian, a lawyer who is representing the San Francisco Unified School District, which tipped federal prosecutors to the fraud. "There are many school districts that were victimized."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/technology/28net.html

and our district loses $20,000 in reimbursement revenue, I'm sure NEC will feel really bad.

Shrub hates kids.

The article doesn't aggregate the damages. One of the reasons often cited for the repetition of this type of activity is that the fines are less than damages, so corporations still make a profit from the activity even after they're caught and fines are paid.

Many can just write those fines off on their income taxes.

Not literally because I do not believe in the death penalty, but I think that anyone who messes with children anywhere in the world should be held to a higher degree of punishment.

Children are innocent. People need to understand the consequences of their actions and to start seeing the reality of their greed. Evidently, he/they didn't think or care about the children, he/they only saw the $$$ that was to be had if it could be pulled off!!

Unmask those who prey on the innocent and find some retribution that would cause him/them to stand before students and people talking about their corruption and greed until they finally break down and see the soullessness within themselves!

:smoke: