Believed to have been first used in 1939 by sociologist Edwin Sutherland, the term ‘white collar crime’ has since become synonymous with a broad range of fraud committed by corporations, government representatives, executives and business professionals. However, these crimes are not isolated to those in professional or corporate roles, or to the affluent and educated.
White collar crimes are those crimes characterized by a violation of trust, deceit, concealment, and fraud, with financial gain being the primary motivation. The result of white-collar crime is often the loss of services, property, money or business advantage for victims.
Common Types of White Collar Crime Include:
Corporate Fraud: including but not limited to ‘self-dealing’, accounting schemes, and manipulation or falsification of financial data.
Money Laundering: A criminal act denoted by the concealment or disguising of proceeds made from illegitimate or illegal acts or means to make them appear as if they originated from legitimate legal activities.
Securities and Commodities Fraud: Including but not limited to investment fraud, Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, promissory note fraud, commodities fraud, embezzlement and market manipulation.
Mail Fraud: Use of the U.S. Postal Service or any private or commercial interstate carrier such as UPS to further the act of fraud.
Wire Fraud: Use of interstate wire transmissions, such as email, phone, text message, chat rooms, or faxes further the act of fraud.
