Colorado group leads in an end to Enron criminal accounting and Corporate Fraud

The Colorado Corporate Fraud initiative would hold corporate criminals accountable for the fraud that happens in their companies. This means that accomplices to criminal fraud can't play dumb any more. This initiative, which is on its way to the ballot in 2008, would make Colorado a leader in the nation in cracking down on corporate crime. The corporate fraud initiative, proposed by former Qwest employee Lew Ellingson, would make CEOs and company executives criminally liable if they broke the law or stood by as others committed crimes. This means that accomplices to criminal fraud -- like Qwest's -- can't play dumb any more. The initiative would also allow any Colorado resident to sue the executives under such circumstances, with proceeds from successful suits going back to the state. More from the NY Times:

(Courtesty of DAN FROSCH) Published: April 1, 2008 DENVER -- For 30 years, Lew Ellingson loved being a telephone man. But by the time Mr. Ellingson retired from Qwest last year at 52, he had grown angry. An insider trading scandal had damaged the company's reputation, and the life savings of former colleagues had evaporated in the face of Qwest's stock troubles.

That's right, Lew saw his friends and collegues lose their jobs while Nacchio made out like a bandit. But instead of throwing up his hands, he did something about it....

Now, Mr. Ellingson is the public face of a proposed ballot measure in Colorado that seeks to create what supporters hope will be the nation's toughest corporate fraud law. The measure would make business executives criminally responsible if their companies run afoul of the law. "If nothing else, these folks in charge of the corporations and companies will think twice about cutting corners to make themselves look more profitable than they really are," he said. The plight of Mr. Ellingson's former employer, Qwest, based in Denver, was a motivation for the proposal, said Jess Knox, executive director of Protect Colorado's Future.

That motivation was partially due to the miscarriage of justice, where it seems once again, money, power and privilege seems to take precendence over justice...

Last April, a jury in Denver convicted Qwest's former chief executive, Joseph P. Nacchio, of 19 of 42 counts of insider trading. Mr. Nacchio was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $19 million and forfeit $52 million in money he earned from stock sales in 2001. In March, however, a federal appeals court panel reversed the conviction on the grounds that a judge had improperly excluded expert defense testimony.

Now, with a law like this on the books, CEO's will no longer think of Ken Lay or Joe Nacchio and think they will get away with their crimes - and employees can rest assured that if someone robs their pensions through the illegal stock sell offs, cooking the books or overstating earnings, they will have a way to legally hold the persons involved responsible. Makes sense, and it is about time. More from Lew Ellingson and Jess Knox on this important ballot that can level the playing field for the employees of America. To get involved with this initiative - contact ProtectCOfuture@gmail.com