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If you thought Pinnacol Assurance executives would surely resign after they were caught spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in sorely needed state funds on an exclusive trip to a swanky California golf resort, think again. After all, who’d want to leave behind perks like that? Indeed, an internal e-mail shows the execs of the agency, which provides workers’ comp for the state, remain entrenched and defiant. CEO Ken Ross and three board members—Gary Johnson, Ryan Hettich, and Debra Lovejoy, who also partook in spending a total of $318,000 in golf, dinners, alcohol, spa treatments, and more at Pebble Beach—refuse to step down despite calls for their resignation, according to 7News. “This kind of behavior is incredibly outrageous,” says Jim O’Toole, a professor of business ethics at the University of Denver.
The e-mail also claims that Pinnacol-held “business incentive events” cost less than those hosted by private companies, and that Pinnacol plans to go on hosting such functions to show appreciation for company agents’ work, notes the Denver Post. Pinnacol spokeswoman Suzi Stolte says the quasi-governmental agency isn’t trying to keep the e-mail content a secret. While Pinnacol does not pay taxes because it is an “insurer of last resort,” state lawmakers may seek to strip most of its tax-exempt status due to the recent scandal.