It's just a protection racket, writ large, over at the Department of Justice...
Groklaw is reporting
that KPMG, the accounting firm that used to handle SCO's finances, is
facing possible charges relating to its accounting practices.
There's a brief explanation of deferred prosecution agreements
that are apparantly common in the industry, but those agreements read
to me more like a protection racket than anything else. They
usually follow threats to indict the company concerned, and involve
extraordinary levels of oversight, large fines, and sweeping changes in
business practices, in return for an agreement not to begin a criminal
prosecution.
Now, maybe the accounting practices really are shady. But, since
the charges never go to court, we'll never know for sure. And
just like a protection racket, the Justice Department won't break your
kneecaps bring criminal charges if you pay up, let them read your books
to make sure you're paying enough, and do what they told you to do
anyway. Your kneecaps are worth it, right?
