Introduction: It was 13 years ago that the announcement of bankruptcy by Enron Corporation, an American energy, commodities and service firm at the time, would unravel a scandal resulting in what is regarded as the most multifaceted white-collar crime FBI investigation conducted in history. High-ranking officials at the Houston-based company swindled investors and managed to further their own wealth through intricate, shifty accounting practices such as listing assets above their true value to increase cash inflows and earnings statements. This had the effect of making the company and its shares look more enticing than they really were to potential investors. Upon their declaration of negative net worth in December 2001, shareholders filed a $40 billion lawsuit against the company, citing a drop of shares from around $90 per share to around $1 per share within only a few months. In light of these events, officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SCE) were prompted to initiate further investigation to figure out how such a drastic loss occurred. White-collar crime can be summed up in a nutshell by the following three deviant behaviors, all of which we hope to establish as morally wrong to our youth: lying, cheating and stealing. The term, coined in 1939, has become an umbrella term encompassing a full spectrum of frauds committed by business (potentially corporate), government professionals and a growing number of individuals capable of cyberspace hijacking. The
The following case is one of the most famous white-collar crime cases known to date. Enron Corporation was an American energy company based out of Houston, Texas. Kenneth Lay formed Enron in 1985 after a huge merger. Over time Enron’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and other corporate executives misled auditors and the board of directors in major financial transactions. Thus, $11 million dollars was lost by shareholders after Enron’s stocks dramatically fell in the end of 2001. Enron was then bankrupt. In this case, many Enron executives were sentenced to prison, a rare punishment for white-collar crime. As a result of this incident, the Sarbanes- Oxley Act was enacted. This act ensured that there would be
Most people, when they hear the word “crime,” think about street crime or violent crime such as murder, rape, theft, or drugs. However, there is another type of crime that has cost people their life savings, investors’ billions of dollars, and has had significant impacts of multiple lives; it is called white collar crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines white collar crime as
In 1939, American sociologist Edwin Sutherland introduced the phrase “white-collar crime”. White-collar crime is a nonviolent crime committed by a business or large corporations. They are usually scams or frauds to gain wealth in society. The people who are guilty of this crime lie, cheat and steal from investors of their company or business. Even though these crimes are non-violent, they have major impacts on the society. Their companies become non existent and families get destroyed. All of their life savings and savings for their children get taken away, and they become bankrupt. Not only does it affect their families, the investors who believed in their business lose millions or even billions of dollars.
Recently the issue of white-collar crime has gained a lot of attention and it is quite common to notice such cases in any part of the world. The term itself is rather old as it was coined by Edwin Sunderland in 1939 and white-collar crime is defined as crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation (Payne, 2013). The
More citizens around the world in the 21st century have a greater awareness and common knowledge or white-collar crimes than in previous decades or centuries. In the west, Sutherland is known as the renowned sociologist who first publically announced and defined white-collar crime around the beginning of World War II, though there is evidence of study and evidence of white-collar crime present in the 19th century and before. The subject of white-collar crime is one of moderate to serious contention, as even its consideration as a crime and its categorization within all of crime is debated fervently in the past and in the present. White-collar crime is prevalent in the 21st century around the world, perhaps more so than in previous years because of the power and potential of technology to make possible and execute many examples of white-collar crimes. Agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation additionally use technology as a means to prevent white-collar crime as well as pursue white-collar criminals. White
In this day and age, a corporation, family, or individual always has a potential risk of encountering fraud within their money supply. On average, fraud and abuse costs U.S. organizations more than $400 billion annually (Federal Bureau Investigation, 2010). Many may think that white collared crime is only money laundering or stealing, but that is only two out of the sum that countless culprits get away with. The term “white-collar crime,” originally coined in 1939 is synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals (Federal Bureau Investigation, 2010). These frauds include anything from bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, identity theft, corporate fraud to a wide number of threats all circling
For misconduct, crime, and criminalization in particular as it relates to white collar crime, there are the three main issues that must be addressed to show valid theory. The first is criminality. The criminality of white collar crime is the focus on an individual or organization’s motivation the situation that stimuluses and leads to the act of a white collar crimes. The theory is imparts the reason that makes a person commit a white collar crime. The second issue white collar crime theory must address is the explanation of a crime. In the case of white collar crime the situational factors play a much bigger role and most situations are not the same. When it comes down to this level of analyzing a white collar crime. Some of the factors
White-Collar Crime consists of occupational crime and corporate crime. Occupational crime refers to offences committed against legitimate institutions businesses or government by those with "respectable" social status. It includes the embezzlement of corporate funds, tax evasion, computer crime and expense-account fraud. It is not every day that we hear about white-collar crimes but these non-violent crimes are on the rise to the top. Federal Bureau of Investigation states that USA, for example recorded white collar crimes amounting $300 billion every year (Cornell University, 2010). White-collar crime is relatively a new idea. It has many aspects that are practical for study and further interpretation to clear some of its dark areas. White-Collar Crime was once introduced by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 during his speech in American Sociological Society. The following crimes actually performed are Bribery, Extortion, Insurance, Fraud, Embezzlement, Cybercrime etc. People who participate in these criminal activities are highly powerful and respectful among the society. The following activities include description about White-collar Crime, Investigation of White Collar Crime and The Consequences of committing a White-collar Crime.
White collar crime is immovably on the rise, thanks to our technologically advancing society. Forgery and counterfeit is another growing form of white collar crime. These acts are defined as imitating or counterfeiting documents or signature for the cause of lying to someone. From the year 1984 to 1993 Forgery and counterfeit increased twenty-one percent and it is still growing (U.S. Dep. Of Justice 240). The growth in white collar crime incidents has also contributed to a rise in cost to the nation. According to National Fraud Center statistics, the cost of economic crime has grown from five billion in 1970 to one-hundred billion in 1990, and is only expected to increase as circumstances become more frequent. I believe in the future white collar crimes will go and violent crimes will decrease. The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), a nonprofit agency that supports state and local police in their efforts to stop, investigate and prosecute economic and high technological crime, reports that while arrests for violent crimes have decreased in recent years, arrests for white collar
The idea of being a white-collar crime investigator sounds the most intriguing as these investigators investigate fraud committed by government and businesses. “Many white-collar crimes are characterized by diffuse victimization, making it difficult for persons to know when and if they are victimized” (Pontell & Rosoff, 2009). The educational requirements to become a Federal Special Agent in the Financial Crime Division at minimum would be a bachelor’s degree in finance, computer science, criminal justice and political science. In order to be the most competitive candidate and get a job investigating white-collar crime, I would need to be knowledgeable on such topics as organized crime, money laundering, corruption and bribery. The skills
White collar crime is a serious issue in the United States. White-collar crime is “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation” (cornell.edu). Examples of such offenses include bribery, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, bank fraud, blackmail, extortion, forgery, securities fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, repair scams, Ponzi and pyramid schemes. These non-violent crimes are responsible for an estimated $250 billion to $1 trillion in economic damages each year (Martinez). Individuals who commit white collar crimes have an increased likelihood to experience injustice compared to those who commit a street crime as noted in multiple studies detailed in various scholarly articles. Also, street criminals have a greater chance of getting caught in their wrongdoings versus white-collar criminals. Those who commit white collar crime make their decisions based on the philosophy or idea that their actions have low risk and a high reward. We face a dilemma in the United States because white-collar criminals are treated with minimal, inequitable punishment due to their social status, whereas the street criminals are treated with the correct, impartial punishment.
However, the definition of white collar crime by this criminologist has become relatively obsolete for many students of criminal law. This is largely because the activities are not only conducted by people of high social status but also those from divergent backgrounds. The other theory behind this type of criminal activities is that deception is used as the means for conducting the activities. For the purposes of legal theory, white collar crime appears to be better approached as a family resemblance instead of type category (Green, 2005). This is mainly because this type of crime primarily refers to
In this paper the exciting criminal phenomenon known as white-collar crime will be discussed. Corporate Crime and Computer Crime will be discussed in detail. Crime preventative agencies such as the NCPC (National Crime Prevention Council) will also be researched. White Collar Crime The late Professor Edwin Sutherland coined the term white-collar crime about 1941. Sutherland defined white-collar crime as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" (Siegel 337) White-collar crime includes, by way of example, such acts as promulgating false or misleading advertising, illegal exploitation of employees, mislabeling of goods, violation of weights and measures statutes, conspiring to
This paper will discuss the many various aspects of White Collar Crime. It will show how whether White Collar crime differs from other types of crime. It will show how to justify white collar crimes compared to all types of other crimes committed. It will show how and why White collar criminals receive more lenient penalties then criminals who commit crimes such as murder, robbery, vandalism. It will show why White collar criminals receive more media coverage then other criminals. Many areas will be covered in this report. It will be discussed in multiple areas. There are many examples which will show the differences form white collar
Periodically, business magazines like Fortune, Forbes, the economist, International—among others, publishes the results of surveys, ranking big corporations by sales, assets, profits and market share. The purpose of these surveys is to identify and celebrate the most profitable corporations. Our era is best known for its booming markets and profits, but it is also a decade of widespread corporate criminality. The number of activities that involved acts committed through deceits and motivated by financial gain has increased considerably. Terms such as “Corporate Crime” or “White Collar Crime” are used to describe a variety of these activities.