White-Collar Crime: an overview

The phrase "white-collar crime" was coined in 1939 during a speech given by Edwin Sutherland to the American Sociological Society. Sutherland defined the term as "crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation." Although there has been some debate as to what qualifies as a white-collar crime, the term today generally encompasses a variety of nonviolent crimes usually committed in commercial situations for financial gain. Many white-collar crimes are especially difficult to prosecute because the perpetrators are sophisticated criminals who have attempted to conceal their activities through a series of complex transactions.

The most common white-collar offenses include: antitrust violations, computer and internet fraud, credit card fraud, phone and telemarketing fraud, bankruptcy fraud, healthcare fraud, environmental law violations, insurance fraud, mail fraud, government fraud, tax evasion, financial fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, bribery, kickbacks, counterfeiting, public corruption, money laundering,embezzlement, economic espionage and trade secret theft. According to the federal bureau of investigation, white-collar crime is estimated to cost the United States more than $300 billion annually.

Although white-collar criminal charges are usually brought against individuals, corporations may also be subject to sanctions for these types of offenses. The penalties for white-collar offenses include fines, home detention, community confinement, costs of prosecution, forfeitures, restitution, supervised release, and imprisonment. However, sanctions can be lessened if the defendant takes responsibility for the crime and assists the authorities in their investigation. Any defenses available to non-white-collar defendants in criminal court are also available to those accused of white-collar crimes. A common refrain of individuals or organizations facing white-collar criminal charges is the defense of entrapment. For instance, in United States v. Williams, 705 F.2d 603 (2nd Cir. 1983), one of the cases arising from "Operation Abscam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscam)," Senator Harrison Williams attempted unsuccessfully to argue that the government induced him into accepting a bribe.

Both state and federal legislation enumerate the activities that constitute white-collar criminal offenses. The Commerce Clause (http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html#section8) of the U.S. Constitution (http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.table.html) gives the federal government the authority to regulate white-collar crime, and a number of federal agencies (see sidebar), including the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the Secret Service, U.S. Customs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, participate in the enforcement of federal white-collar crime legislation. In addition, most states employ their own agencies (http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/topics/search/display.html?terms=agencies&url=/topics/agencies_by_state.htm) to enforce white-collar crime laws at the state level.

menu of sources

Federal Material

Federal Statutes

• 18 U.S.C. § 1341, Mail Fraud
• 18 U.S.C. § 1343, Wire Fraud
• 18 U.S.C. § 1347, Health Care Fraud
• 18 U.S.C. § 371, Conspiracy
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 470-514 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/pIch25.html), Counterfeiting and Forgery
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 641-649 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/pIch31.html), Embezzlement and Theft
• 18 U.S.C. § 1956, Money Laundering
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1964 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1961.html), Racketeering
• 18 U.S.C. § 201, Bribery
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1036 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/ch47.html), Fraud and False Statements
• 18 U.S.C. § 1501-1518 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/ch73.html), Obstruction of Justice
• 26 U.S.C. §§ 7201-7206 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/26/7201.html), Tax Crime
• 18 U.S.C. § 1344, Bank Fraud]
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-1839 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/pIch90.html), Economic Espionage
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 2325-2327 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/pIch113A.html), Telemarketing Fraud
• 26 U.S.C. §§ 7201-7217 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/26/stFch75schApI.html), Tax Crimes
• Securities Act of 1933 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/ch2AschI.html)
• Securites Exchange Act of 1934 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/ch2B.html)

Federal Judicial Decisions

• Supreme Court:
  • Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1 (1999) (Tax Fraud)
  • Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361 (1989) (Sentencing Reform Act)
  • Braswell v. United States, 487 U.S. 99 (1988) (5th Amendment and white-collar crime)
  • California Bankers Ass'n v. Shultz, 416 U.S. 21 (1974) (Bank Secrecy Act of 1970)

• U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals:
  • Recent Decisions Dealing with White-Collar Crime (http://www.law.cornell.edu/usca/search?query=white%20and%0collar%20and%20crime)

State Material

State Agencies

• State Agencies Dealing with White-Collar Crime (http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/topics/agencies_by_state.htm)

New York State Judicial Decisions

• NY Court of Appeals:
  • People v. Wolf, 2002 NY Int. 54 (May 7, 2002). (http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I02_0054.htm) (Commercial Bribery)
  • People v. Feerick, 93 N.Y.2d 433 (1999). (http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I99_0091.htm) (Public Corruption)
  • In re Claim of Sinker, 89 N.Y.2d 485 (1997). (http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/089_0485.htm) (Mail Fraud)
  • Guice v. Charles Schwab & Co., 89 N.Y.2d 31 (1996). (http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/089_0031.htm) (Commercial Bribery/Securities Law Violation)
  • People v. Colavito, 87 N.Y.2d 423 (1996). (http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/087_0423.htm) (Embezzlement)
  • People v. Tran, 80 N.Y.2d 170 (1992). (http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/080_0170.htm) (Bribery)
  • People v. Zinke, 76 N.Y.2d 8 (1990). (http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/076_0008.htm) (Larceny)

Other References

Key Internet Sources

• U.S. Department of Justice (http://www.usdoj.gov/fraud.htm)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/fc/fchome/default.htm)
• U.S. Department of the Treasury (http://www.treas.gov/education/duties/bureaus/fincrimesenforcnet.html?IMAGE.X=32%5C&IMAGE.Y=5)
• U.S. Secret Service  (http://www.treas.gov/usss/investigations.shtml)
• U.S. Customs Service (http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/enforcem/enforcem.htm)
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service (http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/welcome.htm)
• Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov/about/laws.shtml)
• Internal Revenue Service (http://www.irs.gov/irs/display/0,,i1%3D46%26genericId%3D15024,00.html)
• Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/epahome/aboutepa.htm)
• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (http://www.treas.gov/fincen/fsp_main.html)
• National White Collar Crime Center (http://www.nw3c.org/home.htm)
• FBI White Collar Crime Page (http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/minn/white.htm)
• FBI White Collar Crime Study (PDF) (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/whitecollarforweb.pdf)
• FindLaw (http://corporate.findlaw.com/industry/white/)
• University of Exeter - Financial Scandals Guide (http://www.ex.ac.uk/%7ERDavies/arian/scandals/)
• The Cybrary  (http://talkjustice.com/files/ch10link.htm)
• Wired.com - Online Crime (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,45129,00.html)
• BusinessWeek Online (http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2002/nf2002012_5188.htm)

White-Collar Crime In The News

• WorldCom (http://www.msnbc.com/news/772330.asp)
• Enron (http://www.c-span.org/enron/)
• Adelphia Communications Corporation (http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr17627.htm)
• MicroStrategy (http://money.cnn.com/2000/12/14/technology/microstrategy/index.htm)
• Waste Management (http://money.cnn.com/2001/11/07/news/waste_mgt/index.htm)
• Cendant (http://money.cnn.com/1999/12/07/companies/cendant/)
• Rite Aid (http://money.cnn.com/2002/06/21/news/companies/riteaid/index.htm)
• Xerox Corporation (http://money.cnn.com/2002/06/28/news/companies/xerox/index.htm)
• ICN Pharmaceuticals (http://money.cnn.com/1999/08/12/companies/icn/)
• Martha Stewart (http://money.cnn.com/2002/07/15/news/imclone/index.htm)
• Michael Milken (http://www.bartleby.com/65/mi/Milken-M.html)
• Tyco International Ltd. (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/ap_tyco06112002.htm)
• Savings and Loan Crisis (http://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/s&l/)

Related Law About Pages

• Category: Commercial Transactions
• Category: Enterprise Law
• Category: Intellectual Property
• Category: Taxation
• Category: Criminal Justice
• Category: Governmental Organization, Power, and Procedure

Useful Offnet Sources

• Good Starting Point in Print: Corporate & White Collar Crime Aspen Publishers (http://www.aspenpublishers.com/) and Podgor and Israel's White Collar Crime in a Nutshell (http://west.thomson.com/product/22084379/product.asp), West Group (2004).

other topics

Category: Enterprise Law