Crédit Mobilier of America scandal
The Crédit Mobilier of America scandal involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company. Both companies were held under the same ownership which allowed them to work together in exploiting government subsidies which paid for parts of the Transcontinental Railroad. Crédit Mobilier charged excessive fees to the Union Pacific which were eventually paid for by the federal government.
Government officials were paid off in the form of underpriced stock options in Crédit Mobilier which provided them with huge dividends. Vice-President Schuyler Colfax and Congressman James A. Garfield of Ohio were among those charged with bribery.
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