Martha Stewart: The Collapse Of White Collar Crimes

White collar crime, as a rule, is less visible than conventional crime. A white collar crime, by definition, is a non-violent act involving deception, typically committed by a business person or public official. lawyershop.com

There was a time when white collar was not actually considered because of laws being particularly targeted for violent crimes. Nevertheless, times have changed for a better outcome dealing with white-collar crime. Even recent years have shown results. As stated by the FBI (2010-2011) During FY 2011, cases pursued by the FBI resulted in 242 indictments/information and 241 convictions of corporate criminals. Numerous cases are pending plea agreements and trials. During FY 2011, the FBI secured $2.4 billion in restitution orders and $16.1 million in fines from corporate criminals. So it is a newly developed crime

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

Additionally, the Gesualdi also mention various crimes that are covered under the ambit of white collar crimes. They include fraudulent activities at the workplace, dealing in unsafe products, lack of provision of safe working conditions and corruption (Gesualdi 41).

A white-collar crime by definition is a crime that is committed by individuals of higher status. It is not necessarily a violent crime, but could be depending on the situation. An individual who works in a professional environment, such as the government or corporation tend to take advantage of employees and manipulate them into thinking their practices are legitimate. Some examples, of white-collar crimes include fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, and other various crimes. However, individuals who involve them selves in drugs or stealing someone’s personal possessions commit street crime. For example, it tends to be violent depending on the situation and it usually happens in a public place or

Many people in society are unsure on what white collar crime actually is. There are different opinions on what white collar crime should be defined as. A strong definition would be any violation of criminal, civil or regulatory laws or unethical actions committed in the course of one’s occupation. These individuals are usually very respectable in society and have “high-status”. White collar crime is much larger than your traditional street crime: It harms a larger pool of people and can go on for many years under the radar

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

White-collar crime is defined as the financial motivations of non-violent crimes that are committed by professionals of business and those of the government. In the field of criminology, Edwin Suthelan (1939), a socialist who was the first person to define white-collar crime as a crime that respectable and those people of higher social status commit. The crimes include those associated with fraud, bribery, embezzlement, cybercrime, money laundering, theft of the identity and many more crimes that are nonviolent. For the white collar crimes, the offenses committed should produce some gains financially. The crimes are thereby committed by those persons holding various positions in businesses or organizations, and it is because of this position they can gain access to amounts of huge money that they get from the people like customers with whom they serve. The criminals involved are not caught in activities that are violent, involved in drug issues or illegal activities.

In other words, white-collar crime is when an employee commits an illegal act to further themselves or the organization that employs them. According to Sutherland (1940), white-collar crime is commonly seen as "misrepresentation in financial statements of corporations, manipulation in the stock exchange, commercial bribery, bribery of public officials directly or indirectly in order to secure favorable contracts and legislation, misrepresentation in advertising and salesmanship, embezzlement and misapplication of funds, short weights and measures and misgrading of commodities, tax frauds, misapplication of funds in receiverships and bankruptcies" however, is not limited to these

White collar crime is defined as "A crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" (Lesson Nine, Pontell/Sutherland 2018). In my studies over the subject I've come across a major white-collar case that fits with the descriptions Sutherland presented: Poverty and broken homes do not always equate to crime, those who come from a well-adjusted lifestyle are just as liable to commit acts of deviance. Sutherland stated that the actions of corporations resembled those of professional predators, such as con men and bank robbers. Furthermore, some issues as to why those that are wealthy that can get away with these acts is because white-collar crime itself is not a legally defined category of

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

“The Business of White Collar Crime” was a short film that focused on white collar crime and what it is and how it is handled. It also goes into details about the different societal stigma when convicted for a white collar crime versus a drug crime. The movie also gave more information on how one could get charged with a white collar crime like inside trading. Inside trading is when you have security information that the general public do not have and use and or sell it for profit. The film also covered how long financial fraud has been around and how it hurts the middle class more than anyone else. The movie goes into details about how the people who commit white collar crimes usually get light sentences compared to one who commits a drug crime. It also talks about the type of people who are usually convicted for white collar crimes which is usually people in powerful positions.

Edward H. Sutherland coined white-collar crime in 1939. To which he defined it as a “crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” (Payne, 2013). He had multiple different definitions of what white-collar crime was. Sutherland had three significant classifications of who committed white-collar crimes, as well as what type o white-collar crimes they committed. He stated that white-collar crimes were committed by people that were very respected. These individuals that are committing these crimes typically commit these crimes while they're executing the duties of their jobs and their jobs and how they perform their job roles help to assist them in the execution of their criminal activities. Finally, the jobs that they are in are typically jobs that others view/see as very professional/legitimate occupations.

According to Edwin Sutherland 's definition, white-collar crime refers to a relatively uniform behaviour involving actions undertaken by individuals to contribute to the financial success of the organization. They violate the law for the firm. Yet the definition is loose. An offence would be called a white-collar crime insofar as it represents violation of a legal rule constructed to govern business affairs or occupational practice and insofar as the law violation took place as part of the conduct of regular business or occupational activities.

Sometimes known as the ‘victimless’ crime, White Collar Crime includes crimes such as fraud, embezzlement and, more often than not, results in the criminal profiting money-wise which is one of the biggest lures into White Collar Crime (WCC).