If you have watched a lot of shows, you have probably heard of white-collar crimes. A white-collar crime is one of the most famous crimes committed since the 1940s. The term was coined back in 1939 when fraud became the center of criminal activity committed by business and government professionals.
White-collar crimes are often committed with the motivation of having a financial gain. Some individuals commit white-collar crimes to avoid losing money, other property, or services or secure a business advantage. They are called white-collar crimes because they often form part of business activity and are done by a professional who is not to be expected to commit such a crime.
Who Are The Victims Of A White-Collar Crime?
Depending on the severity of the crime, a white-collar crime is not a victimless crime. Given that some individuals think of it as a simple financial act committed, the truth of the matter is that these crimes have a lot of victims who might end up getting hurt financially. The crimes are characterized as a violation of trust in the individual. As such, since the motivation is financial, the victims are also affected in an economic setting.
Families are destroyed because a single scam or a single white-collar crime can wipe out life savings and investments from families that are supposed to be saved for their future. Today’s modern world shows that white-collar crimes have become more complicated and use artificial intelligence in their analysis.
Many government agencies do investigations of criminal activities. Joint efforts are conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
What are the kinds of white-collar crimes?
There are different kinds of white-collar crimes that professionals in their activities commit. The following are the different kinds of white-collar crimes:
Corporate Fraud
It has been noted that corporate fraud is one of the most common kinds of white-collar crime. Of course, corporate fraud includes different kinds of frauds under its wing. According to the FBI majority of the cases of corporate fraud are prosecuted under the following crimes:
Insider Trading
Insider trading is one of the most common crimes under this general wing. When the individual who has private material information about a stock decides to use such information for the buying or the selling of publicly traded company stock, he is considered guilty of insider trading.
The controlling factor here is the fact that the information must be non-public. It must be materials such that if you know the information, you would be leaning towards either buying more stocks or selling the stocks you already own. Any material non-public information that substantially affects and impacts the investor’s decision to buy or sell a security is considered a substantial violation of the law against insider trading.
A perfect example of this crime would be the one committed by Martha Stewart where she sold her stocks in another company, with the knowledge of what might happen next to the company.
Falsification of financial information
Another white-collar crime is the falsification of financial information. It is already known that a majority of corporate fraud cases involved in accounting schemes are done through falsification of the company’s true financial condition.
The term “fake it until you make it” is prevalent in some companies but when done to “deceive investors, auditors, and analysts about the true financial condition of a corporation or business entity”, it is considered a crime.
Embezzlement
A favorite white-collar crime in many movies is related to the crime of embezzlement. Embezzlement happens when a person entrusted by an employer or another person to handle money or the company’s finances uses such trust to misappropriate funds.
If you have noticed, there are a lot of movies and series that have used the concept of embezzlement to show a white-collar crime. For example, when a politician spends a campaign font for personal expenses or an employee finds a way to use company money for their bank account, that is considered an investment and is punishable under the law.
Ponzi Schemes
Another prevalent kind of white-collar crime is in the form of Ponzi schemes. A Ponzi scheme is an investment scam that promises its investors high returns for very little to shallow risk.
People who engage in Ponzi schemes do not focus on increasing the investments by investing in a product or developing a product but on attracting new investors to pay the older ones. Since the older investors think they are making money, it becomes easier for the senior investors to recruit new investors in the scheme.
Extortion
Another white-collar crime is the crime of extortion. Cheer is considered extortion when a person causes another person or an institution to give up their money, their property, or services for no money or nothing in return.
Defending White Collar Crimes
If you have committed a white-collar crime or need help prosecuting one, it is essential to know that you also have a team that can help you out with your specific needs. Our law firm is dedicated to making sure that the law will protect those who are innocent and the full extent of justice will be used.
Disclaimer:
The article that you have read is based on general applications of the law. It is not legal advice and it is not to be construed as any legal consultation with the firm. No client-attorney relationship is created when you read the articles we have provided.
Let us help you out.
If you’ve been charged with a financial crime you need a Soutfhfield criminal defense lawyer on your side, call us immediately. We offer free consultations and are available 24/7 to discuss your legal inquiries.