There are many crimes committed around the country every year. The ones that you do not hear much about, but cost the country $300 million annually, are what is called a white collar crime. If they are big crimes, the story will hit
There are many crimes committed around the country every year. The ones that you do not hear much about, but cost the country $300 million annually, are what is called a white collar crime. If they are big crimes, the story will hit the front page of the paper, be a passing blip on a webpage or if the crime is so big, the story goes national, only then does the public become aware of these crimes. However, they happen every day in the workplace, in government offices, and in non-profit organizations. While white collar crime affects thousands of people a year in this country, the victims of these crimes are often faceless and nameless.
What is White Collar Crime?
White-collar crimes are those committed by business and government employees. The FBI calls it the crime of lying, cheating and stealing. Edwin Sutherland coined the term in 1939 in a speech to the American Sociological Society. His white collar crime definition states that it is a, “crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” They are non-violent crimes and prosecutions are hard to get for several reasons (Cornell Law)
White collar crime examples:
- Anti-trust violations
- Credit Card fraud
- Internet Crimes
- Phone and telemarketing fraud
- Healthcare fraud
- Bankruptcy Fraud
- Environmental Law Violations
- Insurance Fraud
- Mail Fraud
- Tax Evasion
- Financial Fraud
- Insider Trading
- Public Corruption
- Economic Espionage
- Trade Secret/Patent Theft
That’s a lot of crime and it affects the lives and financial well-being of many people, as well as a great deal of money and energy on the part of law enforcement, to ferret out the facts of these crimes. These acts of public distrust account for failed businesses and broken families. Some of the biggest victims in these crimes are the immediate families and loved ones of those that perpetrate these acts, whose lives can be shattered when the white collar criminal is found out.
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White collar crime cases
Al Capone is one of the most notorious white collar criminals. Although his reputation was that of a mobster, his crimes were pure white collar and included a laundry list of crimes. The Bureau of Investigation was not what the FBI is today, and with limited resources, it took time to figure out how to catch Capone. The laws for racketeering were not what they are today, and the United States was under the prohibition laws of the day. He was finally convicted in 1931 by the Treasury Department for failing to pay his taxes on his ill-gotten gains. So, in the end the crime that he was charged with tax evasion.
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