CRMJ415 WEEK 5 Critical Thinking Analysis

CRMJ415Critical Thinking Analysis (45 points)WhistleblowersTCOs: 1: Defining deviance,types of deviance4: Criminal behavior8: Organizational devianceCase:UBS Whistleblower:Hero Becomes the VillainIn January 2010, the New York Daily News reported that BradleyBirkenfeld, an American citizen and formerly a banker with the giantSwiss banking corporation UBS AG, is headed to prison to serve a42-month sentence.Charged in 2008 by the Justice Department withconspiring to help wealthy Americans evade taxes, Birkenfeld pledguilty.Ironically, it was Birkenfeld who alerted U.S. officials in2007 to the fact that UBS routinely helped Americans hide assets fromthe IRS and triggered an investigation that revealed the biggest taxevasion scheme in U.S. history.Birkenfeld discovered an internal bank document in 2005 that revealedUBS wasn’t in compliance with U.S. tax laws.He reported his discoveryto his supervisors and was then fired.Unable to get a financialsettlement for his dismissal from the bank, he eventually voluntarilystarted talking to the SEC and the IRS about the bank’s efforts tohelp Americans evade taxes.He provided extensive documentation ofUBS’s strategies for avoiding detection of its illegal practices.WithBirkenfeld’s assistance, U.S. investigators uncovered $20 billion intaxpayer assets hidden overseas, and federal criminal charges werebrought against UBS.UBS pleaded guilty to its role in the tax evasionscheme, paid a $780 million fine, and was forced to reveal the namesof 4,450 American clients to the Justice Department—less than 25% ofthe 19,000 American accounts the bank admitted to keeping secret fromU.S. tax officials.Even though, as officials admit, the massive fraud would not have cometo light without him, Birkenfeld did not fully disclose his owncomplicity in the tax evasion scheme when he first contacted Americanofficials.His reward for blowing the whistle was a criminal indictmentand nearly 3 years in federal prison.The bank, meanwhile, bought itsway out of the scandal, which reached as far as the White House: UBSdonated $540,000 to President Obama’s presidential campaign, andAttorney General Eric Holder had to recuse himself from the casebecause he once served as a lawyer for the Swiss bank.As the DailyNews observed, the Birkenfeld case exposed a lot more than just hiddenbank accounts.Assignment:Analyze this case using course concepts we have studied sofar.Write an essay that answers these three questions: how devianceoccurred, what kind(s) of deviance occurred, and at least onetheoretical perspective that you think has good explanatory power withrespect to this case.· If you use the text or external resources remember to use APAcitations in the body of your essay and in the correspondingreferences section at the end of the essay.Reminder:You cannot useWikipedia or the websites of other universities.· Create a Microsoft Word document, using double-spacing,paragraphs, and subheadings for each component.· There is no set length for your essay, although 750 words ormore will probably be needed to provide sound analysis.· Carefully edit your essay for grammar and spelling errors andfor presentation style.This assignment is due by1 minute before midnight on the last Sundayof Week 5.Please submit it through the Week 5Dropbox.GradingQuality of analysis (use of course concepts and reasoning) 35 pointsQuality of editing (APA citations, free from spelling and grammarerrors) 6 pointsQuality of presentation (subheadings and paragraphing) 4 pointsTotal points available 45 points