The Martha Stewart Scandal

I love to cook, so finding and trying out a new recipe for me is great. When I have the time, I love to watch cooking shows on TV, so what comes to mind for me, is the Martha Stewart scandal in 2004. In 2001, Martha Stewart had received an inside tip from her stockbroker that her stock, ImClone Systems was going to fall, so she sold her almost 4,000 shares in the company to avoid an almost $46,000 loss, the next day the stock fell 16%. Over the next few months, Martha's activies were being investigated, she was quesioned and later indicted on nine counts, including securites fraud and obstruction of justice. There was a six week trial in january 2004, in which Martha Stewart was convicted and sencentance to five months in prison. She
also had to pay inexcess of $58,000 plus interest for the what she avioded in loss, as well as three times the loss in a civil penalty, to the tune of $137,019. So really she lost over $200,000 just to avoid losing $46,000, doesn't make much sence to me, but it doesn't have to either. The point is, that she broke the law, she tried to cheat the system with insider trading (unethical), she got caught and while she may not have gotten as much time as someone that isn't famous, she was still punished.

Law, is law, is law; you may be able to sidestep it for a small amount of time, but it will catch up to you. Business Law is no different from anyother type of law, it just pertains to the business aspect of living and working in the business/corporate world. Principles in business, at the basic level relate to ethics and morals, which are a basis for every type of law we have.