Corporations Stiffing Government on Fines
The amount of unpaid federal fines has risen sharply in the last decade. Individuals and corporations regularly avoid large, highly publicized penalties for wrongdoing — sometimes through negotiations, sometimes because companies go bankrupt, sometimes due to officials' failure to keep close track of who owes what under a decentralized collection system.
Internal documents from U.S. Customs show that dramatically large fines may be cut sharply.
A major factor in the high rate of uncollected fines and penalties was a change in the law.
The 1996 Victims Mandatory Restitution Act requires judges to order payments regardless of a defendant's ability to pay. It's no coincidence, says Natalie Collins, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Las Vegas, Nev., that the uncollected debts have steeply increased since the law was passed.
clipped from: www.commondreams.org