Reference no: EM131675697

Question: The Greek shipping company Ionia Management managed a 600-foot oil tanker that delivered oil to ports along the eastern seaboard of the United States. During these deliveries, Ionia's engine room crew, at the direction of their ship supervisors, regularly dumped oily waste into the ocean. To conceal the wrongdoing, the ship's crew falsified entries in its oil record book and lied to Coast Guard officials regarding the waste. The top executives and officials Questions & Problems at Ionia did not know that employees were violating company policy and falsifying ship records to cover up their wrongdoing. A jury convicted Ionia of conspiracy, pollution, and obstruction of justice, and the company was fined $4.9 million in addition to probation and assessments. The corporation appealed. Should the corporation be found criminally liable for the illegal actions of its lower-level employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior? Why or why not?