Last Monday, Spanish Judge Carmen Rodríguez-Medel found evidence that the new leader of Spain’s opposition party, the conservative Partido Popular (People’s Party, “PP”), Pablo Casado, received a master’s degree in regional public law from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in 2009 under questionable circumstances. Earlier last week, a student at the university who had a file traced to Casado admitted that Casado did not attend class or submit the required papers for the degree. Furthermore, a former student, Alida Mas Taberner, admitted the university granted her a degree even though she also did not attend class or submit coursework. At the time, Tarberner was a deputy secretary in Valencia, which was then under PP rule. Casado admitted he did not attend class, as he already had a degree from Universidad Complutense, and many of his requirements were waived. The existence of the required papers he had to submit were also questioned. Casado insisted that the investigation into his academic degree was irrelevant and that he had no power to benefit the university politically in his previous capacity as a regional deputy. He now faces possible suspension or expulsion from PP, if found guilty.
Due to immunity laws for Spanish members of parliament, Rodríguez-Medel passed the case onto the Spanish Supreme Court. Spanish lower courts previously found signs of bribery in the conferral of several degrees from the university. In particular, the degree appeared to be given as a gift, rather than through academic merit. In April, Cristina Cifuentes, a PP regional premier from the Madrid region, resigned after claims she falsified her degree. Irregularities concerning her degree led to a criminal probe of forgery of public documents by university officials.
Several weeks earlier, Casados recently replaced former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as the leader of PP, which lost its hold over parliament in a no confidence vote held on June 1st. The vote was held after Spain’s Audiencia Nacional (National Court) ruled PP profited from an illegal kickbacks-for-contracts scheme known as the Gürtel case. The court reportedly confirmed the existence of an illegal accounting and financing structure that ran parallel to the party’s official structure, effectively establishing an institutional system of corruption in the public procurement process in Madrid, Valencia, and other parts of Spain. Estimates of the losses to public finances amounted to approximately 120 million Euros.
Partnering with a third party due diligence provider can help ensure your organization avoids affiliations with beneficiaries of bribery, corruption, and fraud. In addition to degree verification and a multi-lingual team of international investigators, Vcheck’s network of human intelligence can help provide our clients with the information they need to make informed decisions prior to entering relationships. Please reach out to [email protected] for additional information.
-Brock Treworgy
As businesses scan the social media profiles of both prospective and current employees, companies are increasingly turning to partnerships with screening providers to avoid undesirable associations and mitigate headline risk. Leveraging a third party with expertise in comprehensively scanning profiles can not only help businesses identify red flags, but it can also reveal employees divulging sensitive company information. Moreover, turning the responsibility over to a third party helps ensure employers avoid breach of privacy and discrimination claims that may arise if prospective applicants discover that employers visited their social media profiles prior to making a decision on their candidacies. In recent days, Major League Baseball (MLB) has dealt with controversy as discriminatory social media posts from several prominent players surfaced.
Josh Hader
During the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, several tweets from Milwaukee Brewers star reliever Josh Hader came to light while he pitched in front of a national audience. Several Twitter users reportedly found and started retweeting messages Hader had sent as a 17-year old. His messages included homophobic, misogynistic, and racist content. The MLB quickly ordered Hader to undergo sensitivity training. “There’s no excuse for what was said… I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve said and what’s been going on. That doesn’t reflect any of my beliefs now,” said Hader. When asked why he never deleted the tweets, Hader responded “No deletes… obviously, when you’re a kid, you just tweet what’s on your mind.” The incident proved to be an ugly episode during one of the sport’s marquee events.
Sean Newcomb
On July 29th, Sean Newcomb, a starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, apologized for offensive tweets discovered while he nearly pitched a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The messages, sent when Newcomb was a senior in high school, involved racist and homophobic content. Newcomb apologized, and the Braves quickly issued a statement acknowledging the hurtful and disappointing news. Similar to Hader, Newcomb mentioned he had forgotten about the tweets from his past. In addition, the MLB made an appointment for Newcomb to have a conversation with Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane, the league’s vice president for social responsibility and inclusion.
Trea Turner
Two days later, Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner issued an apology for recently discovered tweets from his past with homophobic and racist messages. Turner apologized for offending the African-American, LGBT, and special needs communities, and acknowledged that he should not have said the comments at all, which, similar to Hader and Newcomb, where sent when he was a teenager. “I think a lot of times it’s a tough thing to grapple with having something you said as a 17- or 18-year-old come back to haunt you a little bit later in life, and I think sometimes when you’re that age, you might know those things are wrong to say but maybe you don’t know anybody that’s been personally affected by them. It’s tough for you to really understand the damage, the real damage that they can and do cause,” said Turner. Turner’s teammate, reliever Sean Doolittle, responded “it’s not like you can accidentally post a slur,” and suggested that players delete posts that no longer represent who they are.
Prevention
At Vcheck, we routinely encounter evidence of discriminatory behaviors and tendencies through social media scans. Discovering red flags such as discriminatory, illegal, sexual, or violent conduct can help businesses avoid unsuitable hires and identify alarming behavior from their own employees. As these athletes have recently demonstrated, many tend to forget hurtful comments they have made in the past.
-Brock Treworgy
[email protected]