The last I checked, if I defrauded Medicaid or illegally did anything around prescription drugs, I would be in jail. Pure and simple, jail. But GlaxoSmithKline will just pay fines, as though it will hurt the individuals responsible for the fraud, or flat out theft.
The Supreme Court absurdly ruled that a corporation has the same rights as a person, so shouldn’t a corporation bear the same responsibilities in being a good citizen and punishments when committing a crime as a person? Shouldn’t the board, CEO and directors, who’s the actual corporation or represent the corporation be going to jail on behalf of the corporation, representing the corporation? The only people hurt here are the shareholders who have limited voice but take 100% of the risks and losses. The executive team and board members will continue on, brush this off with a corporate statement to the press, and return to business as usual.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it will pay the U.S. government $3 billion to settle several long-running criminal and civil investigations into the company, including allegations that Glaxo marketed some drugs illegally and defrauded the Medicaid program.
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