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Judge Approves $100 Million Dell Settlement
crimeandpunishment writes "It's official. Dell will pay the US government $100 million to settle fraud charges. CEO Michael Dell will personally pay a $4 million fine. A federal judge approved the settlement after Michael Dell assured him the company will deliver on the reforms it promised. Dell was accused of pumping up its profits over five years by improperly using payments from Intel, in order to meet Wall Street targets."
They were charged with fraud for improperly making their company look like it was in better health than it really was. The people "harmed" were the investors. If you want to give it to the people impacted almost all of it will go to large institutional investors who held on to their stocks thinking that the company was hitting its targets. Very few consumers would see a nickel of that money. Besides this is a slap on the wrist for Dell. Their bigger impact has been on their "reputation," but this little episode will be completely forgotten the next time the hit their targets and greed takes over. Business as usual....