It's not going well for Apple: despite enjoying continued success with the iPad slate, problems keep stacking up for the company - with the most recent issue being the investigation of the company's product manager Paul Shin Devine amid accusations of kickbacks from Asian suppliers.
According to BusinessInsider, Devine leaked confidential corporate secrets to select Asian suppliers - the sort of thing that would prove useful if you wanted to bid on a contract with the company, for example, or be the first to market with accessories for a new design of iPhone - in exchange for sizable cash bribes.
Despite keeping the individual amounts low - and funneling them through his wife's bank account - Devine and his accomplice Andrew Ang are thought to have pocketed around $1 million from the scheme over a period of several years, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The scam came to light when Apple - which is bringing a civil suit against Devine as well as the criminal case which has seen the manager arrested by US Federal Marshals - found evidence in Devine's personal e-mail accounts regarding the payments.
While the case is embarrassing for Apple in general - and will leave its other Asian suppliers fuming - it comes at an awkward time for the company: The Economic Times reports that social media analyst BrandWatch has found that the Apple brand is the one most commonly associated with the Twitter hashtag "#fail," making it - the group claims - the most criticised brand on the microblogging service, ahead of Facebook, Nokia, and the BBC.
While Apple certainly has its fans - and, as the iPad has shown, is capable of making some fantastically successful products - it looks like the company needs to do a little house-cleaning if it wants to salvage its overall reputation.
Are you surprised that a supposedly mid-level manager was able to misappropriate $1 million without anyone noticing, or is this merely the sort of thing that could happen at any company? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
According to BusinessInsider, Devine leaked confidential corporate secrets to select Asian suppliers - the sort of thing that would prove useful if you wanted to bid on a contract with the company, for example, or be the first to market with accessories for a new design of iPhone - in exchange for sizable cash bribes.
Despite keeping the individual amounts low - and funneling them through his wife's bank account - Devine and his accomplice Andrew Ang are thought to have pocketed around $1 million from the scheme over a period of several years, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The scam came to light when Apple - which is bringing a civil suit against Devine as well as the criminal case which has seen the manager arrested by US Federal Marshals - found evidence in Devine's personal e-mail accounts regarding the payments.
While the case is embarrassing for Apple in general - and will leave its other Asian suppliers fuming - it comes at an awkward time for the company: The Economic Times reports that social media analyst BrandWatch has found that the Apple brand is the one most commonly associated with the Twitter hashtag "#fail," making it - the group claims - the most criticised brand on the microblogging service, ahead of Facebook, Nokia, and the BBC.
While Apple certainly has its fans - and, as the iPad has shown, is capable of making some fantastically successful products - it looks like the company needs to do a little house-cleaning if it wants to salvage its overall reputation.
Are you surprised that a supposedly mid-level manager was able to misappropriate $1 million without anyone noticing, or is this merely the sort of thing that could happen at any company? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
RELATED ARTICLES
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review
October 14 2021 | 15:04
Want to comment? Please log in.