Cendant Fraud: Chairman convicted after eight long years

Corporate America is witnessing a series of high-profile convictions and subsequent unprecedented harsh punishments for corporate fraudsters. A Connecticut jury came to the conclusion yesterday that former Cendant Corp. chairman Walter A. Forbes is guilty of conspiracy and filing fraudulent financial reports. The 63-year-old Forbes now faces a bleak future with a prospect of over ten years behind bars on the charges arising out from earnings manipulation at CUC International Inc. amounting to $250 million that through a merger became Cendant, the travel and real estate conglomerate. With convictions and record-breaking sentences being passed on such white-collared criminals, can the average investor now hope for a cleaner corporate image in the future? Let’s see if these sentences deter anyone.