White-Collar Crime
The Concept of White-Collar Crime
Term white-collar crime was coined in the 1930’s
By Edwin SutherlandDefined as
“crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.”
The Concept of White-Collar Crime
The U.S. Congress defined white-collar crime as An illegal act or series of
illegal acts committed by non-physical means and by concealment or guile, to obtain money or property, or to obtain business or personal advantage.
More $ stolen and life's lost to white collar
Difference in White Collar Crime?
White Collar: Any Crime committed through deceit by
someone you would assume deserves respect
Occupational crime: Crime committed by individuals in the
course of their employment (Lawyers, Doctors, any occupation creates criminals within that job)
Corporate crime: Criminal activity on behalf of a business
organization
Globalcorp
• Read and answer the questions• Do you agree with these sentences?• What laws should Congress make to
prevent these questionable and illegal business practices?
Law Enforcement Response to Corporate Crime
Corporate crime is monitored and responded to by a variety of criminal, administrative, and regulatory bodies, but very few corporate crooks are ever the recipients of truly meaningful sanctions.
Great wealth does confer a certain degree of immunity from prosecution and/or conviction.
The Enron Scandal: Crooks Cooking Books
The Enron scandal did tremendous damage to the economy, and created a crisis of investor confidence the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the Great Depression.
Took down one of the 5 ‘big’ accounting firms
What they did: Made false entities to hide financial loses Cooked their books
Law Enforcement Response to Corporate Crime
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires company CEO’s and chief financial officers to personally vouch for their companies’ financial disclosures, ensuring that such people can no longer assume a stance of plausible deniability.
The White-Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement Act creates new substantive offenses, significantly enhances financial and incarceration penalties, and relaxes some procedural evidentiary requirements for prosecutors.
Summary
Take a look at Globalcorp Pick a White Collar Crime to learn about
White Collar Crimes
• Mail Fraud• Securities Fraud• Insider Trading
– Martha Stewart
• Bank Fraud• Counterfeiting /
Forgery– Catch Me if You
Can
• Insurance Fraud• Investment
Schemes / Ponzi– Madoff
• Tax Evasion– Capone
• Insurance Fraud • Many More
With a partner pick a white collar crime, research and create a brochure
to teach others about it.
