Carly Fiorina's HP pays $55 million in illegal kickback settlement

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

The U.S. Justice Department confirmed Monday that Hewlett-Packard paid $55 million to settle claims that the Palo Alto tech giant gave illegal kickbacks to other companies that recommended HP products to government agencies.

A spokeswoman at HP, which reported a tentative settlement earlier this month, referred to a statement in which the company denied acting illegally. The statement added: "We believe it is in the best interest of our stakeholders to resolve the matter and move beyond the issue."

HP was one of several tech companies named by the government three years ago in lawsuits that focused on their payment of so-called "influencer fees" to consultants who helped federal agencies purchase and assemble computer systems.

At the time, some defendants said the fees were legitimate rebates and discounts paid through partnership programs that were common in the tech industry.

But Justice Department attorneys said the fees, which often amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars, created a conflict of interest for the consultants, whose recommendations may have led the agencies to pay too much or buy products they didn't need.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15943622

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

1. did not The give us the cheep printer that we can't afford the ink for

did not she get fired

since she can't layoff people to balance the government budget .... what skills does she have ?

[wtmusic]

2. LOL me too - all I have to do is think of HP printers

and I want to write a check to Boxer.