kickback

Oracle, Sun's new parent, is paying out $46 million over kickback allegations that got Sun in a bit of trouble.

Levied by the U.S. government, the fine will settle claims that Sun Microsystems had paid kickbacks to technology partners such as Accenture in return for recommendations that key government agencies buy from Sun. Sun allegedly paid outside consulting companies any time one of them convinced a federal agency to purchase a Sun product or service, the Department of Justice announced yesterday.

Beyond Sun, several other tech players were caught up in the kickback allegations, including Hewlett-Packard, which was … Read more

Hewlett-Packard has agreed to pay the U.S. government $55 million to settle charges that it paid kickbacks to technology partners for recommending HP products to federal agencies.

This final agreement, announced Monday by the Department of Justice, follows a tentative settlement reached earlier this month in which HP agreed in principle to resolve the case. The settlement closes the book on the DOJ's allegations that HP defrauded the General Services Administration (GSA) and other government agencies by paying "influencer fees" to third-party vendors.

"Contractors must deal fairly with the government when doing business with federal … Read more

Paul Shin Devine, an Apple global supply manager arrested last week for allegedly taking large kickbacks from several suppliers, pleaded not guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif.

Devine was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on 23 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and accepting kickbacks, according to court documents. The indictment alleges that he took advantage of his role at Apple to acquire confidential information, which he then allegedly sold to several suppliers to help them negotiate better contracts.

Beyond the grand jury indictment, Apple has also filed a civil suit … Read more

An Apple manager was arrested Friday for allegedly accepting kickbacks from Asian suppliers, totaling more than $1 million.

Paul Shin Devine worked at Apple as a global supply manager and allegedly used his position to obtain confidential information from the company, according to the San Jose Mercury News. The information was then allegedly sold to the suppliers, helping them negotiate more favorable contracts with Apple.

"Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside … Read more

Hewlett-Packard announced Monday it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department over alleged kickbacks paid by vendors to help secure government contracts.

The agreement resolves the department's three-year investigation into HP's GSA Multiple Award Schedule contract, as well as a civil suit filed in Arkansas in 2007. HP said the settlement would have a negative impact of two cents per share on its fiscal third quarter but did not did not update its guidance for the year or quarter.

The computer maker denied the allegations and said it settled the probe without admitting wrongdoing.

"… Read more

Scosche, makers of the Kickback iPhone case--that I had to get my grubby mits on before I understood just how useful it actually was--are not slowing down in its support of the iPod and iPhone platforms. The company recently announced its 2009 accessories lineup for the Apples platforms.

First up in their "Listen" line are the IDR400M and IDR600 earbuds and the HZ5 TuneStream Bluetooth headphones.

According to Scosche, both the ID400M and earbuds are noise isolating and the ID400M features a hands free mic. The IDR600 also has a sliding magnetic cable management system.

The HZ5 TuneStream … Read more

A couple of weeks back, I wrote a blog on Scosche's Kickback clear case for the iPhone 3G. In that post, I said I'm not into fragile-looking cases, which is how the Kickback looked to me in pics.

Since then, I've been able to try the Kickback firsthand, and while I still maintain that it looks fragile, it doesn't feel as brittle as I originally thought it would, and in some areas actually feels bendy.

Now, I haven't conducted any hardcore drop tests, but I did do a wimpy 2-feet-high drop-on-carpet test (twice!) and so … Read more

When I watch movies on my iPhone 3G, it's usually in a setting other than my home, like on the bus or plane. I've never used it as a replacement for my PS3, for example.

Having said that, I'm sure there are those who use their iPhones for everything no matter the setting. If you've ever had the desire to prop up your iPhone horizontally--you know, without using a cup shoe of something--and use it as a movie player, Scosche has a solution.

On Monday it announced the Kickback, a polycarbonate iPhone 3G case with an … Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice has closed the books on one of its cases targeting allegations that high-powered companies swapped unlawful kickbacks in government agency technology contracts.

Nearly four years after whistleblowers filed a lawsuit that named, among other companies, Computer Sciences Corp., CSC has agreed to a $1.37 million settlement with the Justice Department to resolve the allegations.

CSC--a major government contractor that specializes in consulting, systems design, and outsourcing--had been accused in September 2004 of "knowingly solicit(ing) and/or receiv(ing) payments of money and other things of value, known as alliance benefits, from … Read more