[fatfingerd]

In a civil case this is the right thing to do. Chances are good that a company as large as FedEx very closely met with leasing providers and discussed how they were going to get those costs down, better than if FedEx didn't lease. The lawyers would be silly not to fish for signs that FedEx knew a bit about why it could get the leasing rates it wanted.

[Alupis]

I have no doubt the leasing company would factor in re-sale value of the vehicles... that's how all vehicle leases work.

I do doubt FedEx would be in any way involved in the details of selling leased vehicles. I can say with a high degree of confidence there never was a meeting with FedEx execs where they pitched the idea of increasing residuals by swapping odometers...

[fatfingerd]

That's not really necessary. It sounds unlikely to me that there wouldn't be a paper trail with someone in FedEx's procurement about such a project, particularly if this really included FedEx racking the miles on the new odometer.

A project to cut an ongoing vendors costs is about the only way for a large cap procurement specialist to meet and exceed targets with no possibility of additional valid free market bids. That opens them right up to questions of liability, with managers knowing or avoiding knowledge, workarounds, special advice to other divisions, etc.

You don't have to go to jail to lose a lawsuit.. I worked for a company that put together a whole system for reporting these kinds of ethics irregularities in the companies favor. I don't think that was a charity, they act as a defense or at least lower punitive damages a judge is likely to award when violations still occur.