An expose of bad businesses and their unethical practices

William McGuire, former CEO of the UnitedHealth Group, has decided to forfeit stock options worth $418 million dollars. This payback was part of a probe by the Security and Exchange Commission into back-dated stock options granted McGuire by UnitedHealth. It is worth noting that this marks the first time that the SEC has been successful in using rules put in place after the Enron debacle to force executives to return ill-gotten monetary rewards.

The back-dated options were part of a compensation package that initially caused a ruckus in 2006. Ethical concerns over this package caused McGuire to resign his position with the company. SEC sources indicate that the investigation does not stop with McGuire and that more announcements should be expected.

Options deals such as this one are clearly not in favor of the stockholders of the granting corporation. Rather, they are an unnecessary and unethical drain on corporate resources. One would have thought that Mr. McGuire, one of the founders of UnitedHealth Group, would have had the corporation’s best interests in mind. Instead, he involved himself in some Bad Business for personal gain.