# Has a criminal conviction of a corporation ever resulted in prison time for an individual? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846 "2014-03-29T17:50:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/1 "2014-03-29T17:50:02Z")
> [@](#): > > PG&E expects criminal charges for deadly San Bruno blast > > Pacific Gas and Electric Co. expects to face criminal charges from the federal government over the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that killed eight people and leveled a neighborhood, the company reported Thursday. > > The U.S. attorney’s office investigating the blast will probably charge the utility with violating the federal Pipeline Safety Act in areas related to record-keeping and pipeline maintenance, PG&E said. The utility’s parent company, PG&E Corp., made the prediction in a filing Thursday to the Securities and Exchange Commission. [http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PG-amp-E-expects-criminal-charges-for-deadly-San-5355143.php](http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PG-amp-E-expects-criminal-charges-for-deadly-San-5355143.php) OK, there are plenty of former corporate executives in prison (Ebbers, Skilling, Koslowski for example) but they were convicted for individual crimes. If no individuals are culpable in corporate criminal cases then why do so many people think a bank CEO might serve time for the 2008 mortgage crisis? (I am thinking of the Matt Taibbi’s - who I have no respect for anyway) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/2 "2014-03-29T18:17:41Z")
Yes, here is one example. > **[Former Synthes Officers Receive Prison Sentences](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204443404577052173679627572)** > > Two former Synthes Inc. executives were sentenced to nine months in prison and a third sentenced to five months in prison for their roles in the medical-device maker's promotion of a bone cement for unauthorized uses. ---
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/3 "2014-03-29T18:32:37Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Yes, here is one example. > > [http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204443404577052173679627572](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204443404577052173679627572) That is a good one. Thanks. > [@](#): > > Between 2002 and 2004, Synthes attempted to promote new uses for a product called Norian XR, a calcium phosphate bone void filler mixed with barium sulfate. The Food and Drug Administration explicitly told Synthes not to promote Norian for certain spine surgeries, but the company pushed forward anyway. At least five patients who had Norian injected into their spines died on the operating-room table (Wikipedia) That is blatant. I could not think of one. I even went to a list of the most corrput CEOs from Time Magazine and they were all investor related crimes. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/4 "2014-03-29T19:32:33Z")
I think you’re confusing the criminal liability of the corporation with criminal liability of individuals. There isn’t vicarious liability in criminal law - a person can only be convicted for their own actions, not for the acts of another, such as a corporation. However, the directing minds of the corporation can be charged along with the corporation itself, for their role on directing the actions of the corporation, and nay be convicted. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/5 "2014-03-29T20:12:00Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I think you’re confusing the criminal liability of the corporation with criminal liability of individuals. There isn’t vicarious liability in criminal law - a person can only be convicted for their own actions, not for the acts of another… Unless you’re driving the getaway car and someone gets shot in the bank. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/6 "2014-03-29T20:53:01Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Northern Piper: “There isn’t vicarious liability in criminal law.” Unless you’re driving the getaway car and someone gets shot in the bank. Northern Piper will soon give a fuller explanation, I’m sure. But the liability in that case is not vicarious. If you are a party to the crime, you are as guilty as the perpetrator. The driver could be guilty of both robbery and murder. He’s guilty of his own acts, although he did not enter the bank or pull the trigger. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/7 "2014-03-29T20:59:24Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Northern Piper will soon give a fuller explanation, I’m sure. But the liability in that case is not vicarious. If you are a party to the crime, you are as guilty as the perpetrator. The driver could be guilty of both robbery and murder. He’s guilty of his own acts, although he did not enter the bank or pull the trigger. I don’t know that a fuller explanation is needed. You did a nice job of explaining the concept. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/8 "2014-03-29T23:50:42Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Unless you’re driving the getaway car and someone gets shot in the bank. There was an even weirder story I read a few years ago. Man robs bank. Cops shoot robber. Robber dies. Cops go to robber’s house, arrest wife, charge her with murder because she allegedly participated in conspiring to rob bank. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/9 "2014-03-30T00:14:28Z")
I work in the pharmaceutical industry and it is much more strict and Draconian than any other industry I have worked in. I work in IT and Operations. I am only mid-level but they make it blatantly obvious that everything I sign can have legal consequences up to and including prison. I work under a number of different standards depending on the systems involved but the most strict by far are the [SOX](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes%E2%80%93Oxley_Act) systems. I could potentially go to prison even for falsifying minor document so I certainly do not do that. In that kind of environment, you adhere to pure honesty that doesn’t exist in the rest of the world. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/10 "2014-03-31T13:23:19Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I don’t know that a fuller explanation is needed. You did a nice job of explaining the concept. The recent terrorist conviction of Bin Laden’s son-in-law shows this clearly. The man was convicted of conspiracy to commit acts that had already happened before he showed up. He wasn’t accused of being in the conspiracy prior to the attacks, he began to participate in the only conspiracy after the fact. One doesn’t have to have any participation in a specific act to be convicted of that act. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/11 "2014-03-31T14:31:25Z")
[Peanut butter people covered up salmonella](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324503204578318024027438166) and got arrested. As they should have. Edit: I guess they haven’t been convicted yet. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/12 "2014-03-31T14:47:42Z")
Like the case **Linden Arden** cited, those are criminal charges filed directly against the owner in his individual capacity. **Northern Piper** correctly explained that people can’t go to prison for the crimes of a corporation unless they are individually culpable - and thus convicted themselves. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/13 "2014-03-31T14:48:09Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I think you’re confusing the criminal liability of the corporation with criminal liability of individuals. There isn’t vicarious liability in criminal law - a person can only be convicted for their own actions, not for the acts of another, such as a corporation. However, the directing minds of the corporation can be charged along with the corporation itself, for their role on directing the actions of the corporation, and nay be convicted. Not necessarily. Ohio Revised Code; 2901.24 Personal liability for organizational conduct. (A) An officer, agent, or employee of an organization as defined in section 2901.23 of the Revised Code may be prosecuted for an offense committed by such organization, if he acts with the kind of culpability required for the commission of the offense, and any of the following apply: (1) In the name of the organization or in its behalf, he engages in conduct constituting the offense, or causes another to engage in such conduct, or tolerates such conduct when it is of a type for which he has direct responsibility; (2) He has primary responsibility to discharge a duty imposed on the organization by law, and such duty is not discharged. (B) When a person is convicted of an offense by reason of this section, he is subject to the same penalty as if he had acted in his own behalf. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/14 "2014-03-31T14:51:07Z")
I don’t think that’s inconsistent with the quoted post. The individual still must _act with the kind of culpability required for the offense_. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/15 "2014-03-31T14:52:52Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Northern Piper will soon give a fuller explanation, I’m sure. But the liability in that case is not vicarious. If you are a party to the crime, you are as guilty as the perpetrator. The driver could be guilty of both robbery and murder. He’s guilty of his own acts, although he did not enter the bank or pull the trigger. In Ohio, Complicity can be charged as Complicity OR as the Principal offense. The only difference is if the NON trigger man can prove they had NO prior knowledge of a homicide, and the Court buys it, they can NOT get the DP. ---
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/16 "2014-04-01T23:08:33Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Yes, here is one example. > > [http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204443404577052173679627572](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204443404577052173679627572) The sentence of these people resulted in 3-6 month prison sentences. How is that commiserate with even low manslaughter guidelines? And how about my OP example where the utility is culpable? And what about GM this week? It seems that corporations get a pass. That is OK with me as long as it is acknowledged so. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/17 "2014-04-02T12:13:05Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I work in the pharmaceutical industry and it is much more strict and Draconian than any other industry I have worked in. I work in IT and Operations. I am only mid-level but they make it blatantly obvious that everything I sign can have legal consequences up to and including prison. I work under a number of different standards depending on the systems involved but the most strict by far are the [SOX](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes%E2%80%93Oxley_Act) systems. I could potentially go to prison even for falsifying minor document so I certainly do not do that. In that kind of environment, you adhere to pure honesty that doesn’t exist in the rest of the world. +1 on that. I work in medical device manufacturing, primarily insulin syringes. Management goes to great lengths to make sure our inspections and documentations are perfect. Auditors **love** to find things they can question. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/18 "2014-08-07T16:49:57Z")
Bumping this thread, charges were in fact filed: “Pacific Gas & Electric could be facing new penalties of more than $1 billion when it appears in a U.S. federal court in San Francisco on Aug. 18 to address charges under a July 29 indictment that more than doubles the number of its alleged violations of the federal Pipeline Safety Act linked to a fatal 2010 gas pipeline blast in San Bruno, Calif.” > **[PG&E Faces New Criminal Charges for San Bruno Pipeline Fire](https://www.enr.com/articles/2713-pg-e-faces-new-criminal-charges-for-san-bruno-pipeline-fire)** > > Photo by AP Wide World New criminal charges were filed against PG&E in the 2010 San Bruno pipeline fire that killed eight people. Related Links: July 29 Superseding Indictment Announcement and Link to Document April 1: U.S. Indicts PG&E on 12... What will happen? Settle for a few million dollar fine? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/19 "2014-08-07T17:37:59Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Bumping this thread, charges were in fact filed: > “Pacific Gas & Electric could be facing new penalties of more than $1 billion when it appears in a U.S. federal court in San Francisco on Aug. 18 to address charges under a July 29 indictment that more than doubles the number of its alleged violations of the federal Pipeline Safety Act linked to a fatal 2010 gas pipeline blast in San Bruno, Calif.” > [http://enr.construction.com/business\_management/safety\_health/2014/0811-pge-faces-new-criminal-charges-over-san-bruno-pipeline-fire.asp](http://enr.construction.com/business_management/safety_health/2014/0811-pge-faces-new-criminal-charges-over-san-bruno-pipeline-fire.asp) > > What will happen? Settle for a few million dollar fine? This is actually a good example I think for illustrating the individual culpability vs the corporate culpability. If the violations and subsequent fire are found to be just the unfortunate result of the accumulation of a bunch of individually non-criminal acts by employees and company leaders, then nobody would go to jail- nobody individually committed any crimes. However, if an inspector or executive is found to have covered up or otherwise committed criminal acts, then they could also be found guilty of a crime. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-criminal-conviction-of-a-corporation-ever-resulted-in-prison-time-for-an-individual/684846/20 "2014-08-07T19:19:10Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > There was an even weirder story I read a few years ago. Man robs bank. Cops shoot robber. Robber dies. Cops go to robber’s house, arrest wife, charge her with murder because she allegedly participated in conspiring to rob bank. Assuming she was in fact a member of the conspiracy, that’s a perfectly valid application of the law, as I understand it. Mind you, IANAL.