White-Collar Crime

for financial gains.

The actual term “white - collar crime” was

coined by Edwin Sutherland, Professor of Sociology, 29th President American Sociological Society.

Sutherland described such crimes as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.”

a wide array of crimes, but they all involve crimes

committed through deceit for the purpose of gaining money or other assets.

White-collar crimes can often be difficult to prosecute, as the perpetrators take sophisticated steps to ensure their illegal activities are difficult to detect.

The most common types of white-collar crime:
Fraud
Insider Trading
Bribery
Forgery
Embezzlement

Other Types of White Collar Crime:
Tax evasion
Ponzi schemes
Pyramid schemes
Bank fraud
Racketeering
Healthcare Fraud etc.

something in return. The crime of fraud requires four elements:

The

perpetrator made a statement of fact that he knew to be false
The perpetrator intentionally made the false statement
The victim believed the statement to be true, relied on the statement, and lost something of value, based on his belief

Example of Fraud
Joseph responded to an ad about an apartment for rent. He met with the supposed landlord, toured the apartment, and agreed to rent the apartment by signing a lease. Joseph paid the security deposit and first month’s rent up front. The next week, Joseph went to the apartment to pick up the key, and learned that someone else actually occupied the residence.
After doing some investigation, Joseph learned that the apartment was not for rent at all, but that the man he met with and gave the money to was not the property owner. In this example of white collar crime, the man who posed as the owner to swindle money out of a prospective tenant has committed fraud.

trading is against the law if a securities transaction, which

is the sale or purchase of stocks, is engaged in by a person, or small group of people, inside the company, who have special knowledge not available to others.

Example of Insider Trading
Jeff works for a private company that is working on a device that can detect certain serious heart problems. One day, while at work, Jeff receives an e-mail that was intended for his boss. The e-mail stated that the device would be released on a certain day, which had not been announced to the public. Jeff immediately calls family and friends, telling them to buy company stock right away.
By time the product is released, which immediately raises stock values, the company’s stocks have already been bought out. In this example of white collar crime, Jeff used “insider information” to give his friends and family an edge, enabling them to obtain company stocks at the previously low rate.

to tempt or influence someone to act in a specific

way, to make certain decisions, or to express certain opinions. This is most commonly seen in one person offering to pay money to another person, who is in a position of authority, for the purpose of persuading him to do something, or to refrain from doing something. Both offering bribes, and accepting bribes, are considered illegal.

Example of Bribery
DrillTech company is in the process of engineering a horizontal drilling project for a company installing a pipeline that runs through North City. The City Engineering office is dragging its feet on approving the drilling project, bringing up question after question about the project. Mr. Smith, DrillTech’s Vice President of hole-drilling, invites Sam, the City Engineer to lunch, during which he offers to “donate” $100,000 to his children’s education fund, if Sam will just finish the approval process, allowing DrillTech to get on with the project.

This is considered bribery, as its purpose is to induce a city official to take an action that will benefit the company’s business and profit. In this example of white collar crime, DrillTech has committed an illegal act in attempting to bribe the city official. If Sam accepts the bribe and greenlights the drilling project, he has also committed an illegal act.

as a check, contract, or other document, with the intent

to defraud or injure the recipient of the document. This includes such crimes as passing forged checks, and creating, possession, or selling falsified art.

Money laundering

Money laundering is a term used to describe a scheme in which criminals try to disguise the identity, original ownership, and destination of money that they have obtained through criminal conduct. The laundering is done with the intention of making it seem that the proceeds have come from a legitimate source. A simpler definition of money laundering would be a series of financial transactions that are intended to transform ill-gotten gains into legitimate money or other assets.

purposely withholds or uses assets and monies for a purpose

other than for what it is intended. Also referred to as “financial fraud” or “larceny,” embezzlement is typically committed by an employee who is in charge of an agency or company’s finances, or a person who has responsibilities pertaining to the assets. Embezzlement is considered a white-collar crime, and can affect both small and large businesses.

Embezzlement Case

Darryl McCauley was business manager to comedian Dane Cook from 2004 to 2008. During this four-year period, McCauley and his wife stole money from Cook’s personal and business accounts and used the funds to travel, purchase a home, and invest in stocks. When Cook hired person manager to take over the business manager position in 2008, it came to light that McCauley had embezzled over 12 million dollars. McCauley was charged in 2010, and the case went to court. McCauley was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, and ordered to pay Cook back in full.

and convicted of white-collar crimes are established using a particular

set of rules in which points are added or eliminated depending on the various aspects of the defendant’s behavior and the crimes committed. In large part, the guidelines are driven by the amount of losses caused by the fraudulent activity, which can easily increase the punishment to what is given drug dealers and murderers. Although the sentencing guidelines are simply a recommendation, in most cases, judges try to maintain punishments within the recommended range, in order to avoid government appeals.

The question “Are punishments for white-collar criminals too harsh or too lenient?” has no simple answer, because there is no appropriate way to determine the sentence for each defendant, especially for those committing financial crimes. It is true that the impact of such criminal activity is far broader than burglaries or property crimes.

White-collar crimes are among the hardest to defend. If you are being investigated for fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, or some other type of financial crime, it is crucial to remain silent and get legal counsel from a white-collar crime attorney.

Andrew M. Weisberg is a criminal defense attorney in Chicago, Illinois. A former prosecutor in Cook County, Mr. Weisbergis a member of the Capital Litigation Trial Bar, an elite group of criminal attorneys who are certified by the Illinois Supreme Court to try death penalty cases. He is also a member of the Federal Trial Bar. Mr. Weisberg is a sole practitioner at the Law Offices of Andrew M. Weisberg.

the way the criminal legal system is built. Generally, in

order to convict an offender the prosecution is required to prove that the alleged offender actually committed the act (actus reus) and that the criminal intent (mens rea) was present and that the evidence on the crime was beyond a reasonable doubt. This is extremely difficult in financial crimes where physical evidence may be easily destroyed by offenders.

crime cannot be uprooted or entirely prevented as criminals are

becoming increasingly more sophisticated and seeking new methods of abusing trust and power. With the finance arena simultaneously becoming more complicated, the involvement of new technologies and features, such as digital currency like bit coin, the danger that society faces from white collar crime in modern times cannot be ignored.

Legislation alone seems to fall behind in the battle with the black plague that is white collar crime. There is a need for a multisystemic approach combining all three branches of government, as well as society, to deal with the matter effectively. The legislative branch should remain vigilant in trying to update the legal system so that it can be more effective in dealing with white collar crimes through new platforms. The judicial branch needs to understand white collar crime and appropriately recognize and punish violations of the law. The executive branch needs to create mechanisms that enable employees to avoid the temptations stemming from association with finances which create conflicts of interest. And finally , society must denounce non-ethical behavior which enables white collar crime.

known as NW3C, is a congressionally funded non-profit corporation which trains

state and local law enforcement agencies to combat emerging economic and cyber crime problems. The NW3C provides the general public with information and research on preventing economic and cyber crime.

NW3C provides a nationwide support system for law enforcement and regulatory agencies tasked with the prevention, investigation and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime.