Brian Whitfield Case Analysis

State the title of the article, the name of the publication in which it appeared and the date of publication.

The article I have chosen titled “Sommet leader Brian Whitfield sentenced to 20 years” was published by The Tennessean on June 8, 2015.

Provide a summary of the news story, with emphasis on the facts.

A previous leader of The Sommet Group, Brian Whitfield, was accused and found guilty after a plea of not guilty to stealing money from clients and the government in the amount of $20 million. The IRS believed the estimated money stolen was upwards of $22 million. The federal prosecutor claimed and proved Whitfield had stolen and then used money for his own personal expenses. Although, the case originally indicted Whitfield’s

The defendants in the case were Brian Whitfield, Marsha Whitfield, and Edwin Todd. Though Marsha Whitfield and Edwin Todd were indicted they chose to accept plea deals and avoid trial proceedings.

(3 points) What kind of defenses has the defendant raised? Or, if the case is over, what defenses did the defendant raise? If not clear in the article, what are the likely defenses?

The defense the defendant raised was he had not monitored financial transactions within The Sommit Group and denied any knowledge of stolen money clients and government. He had admitted to guilt of not being fully aware of the financial transactions, but nothing more than that.

(5 points) Based on the facts of the case you have selected, is it possible the employer can also be held criminally liable? Explain your answer.

I believe corporate liability would allow a case to be filed to require the money stolen to be repaid in a judgment against the corporation. A corporation has no actual body making jail time impossible, but makes it possible for The Sommet Group to be held accountable and pay a select dollar amount that satisfies the fraud committed by the employee and by association the corporation.

Part 5, Form An