Chapter 14

Larceny/Theft, Fraud and White-Collar Crime

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Introduction

• Larceny/theft is one of the eight index crimes reported in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

• Reported larceny/thefts exceed the combined total of all other index crimes

• Minimum financial threshold of $250,000 for federal investigators to take the case

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PROPERTY CRIME

• Larceny is committed through cunning, skill and criminal design

• No force or threat of force is involved

• Characterized by deceit, concealment or violation of trust

• Goal is monetary gain

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Larceny/Theft: An Overview

ELEMENTS

• Felonious stealing, taking, carrying, leading or driving away of another’s personal goods or property

• Valued above (grand) or below (petty) a specified amount

• With the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property or goods

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Elements of the Crime: Larceny/Theft

TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES

• Grand larceny

Felony

In many states, $100 or more

• Petty larceny

Misdemeanor

In many states, less than $100

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Classification of Larceny/Theft

ISSUES

• Keeping or selling property lost by the owner is a form of theft

• It is not legal possession

• Reasonable effort must be made to find the owner

• Owner, if located, must pay the cost of such inquiries

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Found Property

OBSTACLES

• Similar to investigating a burglary

• Even less physical evidence is available

• No illegal or forcible entry occurred

• Do not give impression that the report is unimportant

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The Preliminary Investigation

PICKPOCKETS AND PURSE SNATCHERS

• Victim must identify the thief

• Looping

BICYCLE THEFT

• Bicycle theft rings

• Sold for parts or repainted

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Types of Larceny/Theft

THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLES

• Most common complaint received

• Small property value

MAIL THEFT

• Flaggers

• Felony-level federal offense

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Types of Larceny/Theft

RETAIL SHRINKAGE

• Employee theft

• Shoplifting

• Organized retail crime

JEWELRY THEFT

• Because jewel thievesoperate interstate, theFBI becomes involved

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Types of Larceny/Theft

ART THEFT

• Losses run as high as $6 billion annually

• International problem

COINS, METALS AND PAPER MONEY

• Obtain exact description of the coins

• Gold, copper, silver and aluminum are valuable

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Types of Larceny/Theft

AGRICULTURAL THEFT

• Timber

• Cactus

• Livestock

• Farm equipment and chemicals

FISH AND WILDLIFE THEFT

• Poaching

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Types of Larceny/Theft

OBTAINING PROOF

• Prove that the property is missing

• Bills of sale or receipts

• Evidence that the owner had custody

• Owner can testify to the actual value

• Take statements from the owner

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Proving the Elements of the Crime

OVERVIEW

• General term used for deceit, trickery and cheating

• Activity of persons pretending to be what they are not

• Often involves use of interstate communications devices

• Most types of fraud fall under FBI jurisdiction

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Fraud

CONFIDENCE GAMES

• Money or property is obtained by a trick

• Short and long con game

REAL ESTATE AND MORTGAGE FRAUD

• Equity skimming

• Property flipping

• Inflated appraisals

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Fraud

INSURANCE FRAUD

• Premium diversion by agents

• Workers’ compensation fraud

HEALTH CARE FRAUD

• Throughout entire country

• Medicare and Medicaid the most visible programs affected

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Fraud

MASS MARKETING FRAUD

• False or deceptive representations to induce victims

• Advance fee-type payments to fraud perpetrators

MAIL FRAUD

• Perpetuating scams through the mail

• Contact the postal inspector

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Fraud

COUNTERFEITING

• Identification documents

• Commercial counterfeiting

CHECK FRAUD

• Stolen checks

• Fraudulent checks

• Forgery

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Fraud

DEBIT AND CREDIT CARD FRAUD

• Elements

Possess a debit/credit card obtained by theft or fraud

By which services or goods are obtained

Unauthorized signing of the cardholder’s name

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Fraud

IDENTITY THEFT

• Unauthorized use or attempted use

Credit card

Existing accounts

Personal information

Any combination

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Fraud

OVERVIEW

• Illegal acts characterized by fraud

• Also called economic or corporate crime

• Perpetrators do not look like criminals

• Often highly educated, socially accepted people

• Few law enforcement agencies are equipped to investigate white-collar crime

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White-Collar Crime

CORPORATE FRAUD

• Highest priority of FBI’s financial crimes section

• Falsification of financial information

• Many cases involve securities and commodities

• Enron scandal

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White-Collar Crime

MONEY LAUNDERING

• Two-pronged FBI approach

Prong 1

Investigating underlying criminal activity

Prong 2

Conducting parallel financial investigation

Uncovering the financial infrastructure

Discerning how it flows

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White-Collar Crime

EMBEZZLEMENT

• By a person to whom it has been entrusted

• Fraudulent appropriation

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME

• Numerous laws

• Often considered a civil matter

• Civil regulatory agencies

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White-Collar Crime

FACTORS

• Monetary value of the loss

• Amounts of these thresholds vary with the crime

• FBI’s national security and criminal priorities

• INTERPOL

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A Final Note about Jurisdiction

Summary

• Larceny/theft is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading or driving away of property from another’s possession

• Larceny is synonymous with theft

• Fraud is intentional deception to cause a person to give up property or some lawful right

• Main problem in investigating environmental crimes is that they are often considered a civil matter

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