The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘ProPublica’

GAO Report Slams Labor Dept. Program to Protect Whistleblowers

The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration isn’t adequately protecting whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office. Since Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, little more than 2 percent of worker requests for whistleblower status have been granted.

Banks’ Self-Dealing Super-Charged Financial Crisis

Over the last two years of the housing bubble, Wall Street bankers perpetrated one of the greatest episodes of self-dealing in financial history. Faced with increasing difficulty in selling the mortgage-backed securities that had been among their most lucrative products, the banks hit on a solution that preserved their quarterly earnings and huge bonuses: They created fake demand.

GAO Report Finds For-Profit Colleges Encouraged Fraud

A report released by the Government Accountability Office further highlights some of the questionable recruiting tactics of several for-profit colleges across the country.

Bogus ‘Obama Mom’ Grants Lure Students

Consumer advocates say they are alarmed by parallels between the subprime mortgage industry and for-profit schools, which also have come under fire for targeting low-income groups and signing up students for loans that can leave them buried in debt. Some schools earn nearly 90 percent of their revenue from federal student aid programs. Single moms, the critics say, are especially vulnerable.

Lobbyists Promote Asbestos Use in the Developing World

Asbestos has long been known to cause debilitating and often fatal diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. It is banned or restricted in 52 countries. But since the mid-1980s, a global network of lobbyists has spent nearly $100 million to maintain a market for asbestos, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.

Fried Chicken, Krispy Kreme and Lobbying

Last December, a $500 donation could buy a ticket to a fundraiser that, the invitation said, would feature “Bojangles’ Fried Chicken, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, And Mel Watt, of course!” Two days later, Watt, a Democratic congressman from North Carolina, withdrew a provision from the House’s financial reform bill that would have regulated loans from car dealers.

The Madoff Circle: Who Knew What?

When Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to running the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, he insisted he was the lone perpetrator. But an investigation by ProPublica finds an alternate narrative is now emerging from the pile of Madoff-related litigation – one in which a small circle of men played knowing, integral roles in the scheme, in some cases benefiting more from it than even Madoff himself.

Are Federal Agencies Open? Audit Gives Mixed Grades

An audit of agency open government plans released by a consortium of transparency groups found that while some agencies outlined concrete steps for improvement, others lack specifics about how or when the agency will be more open.