A white-collar crime is a wide range of offenses typically involving misconducts motivated by financial gain. White-collar criminals, usually business employees and government officials, use fraud and deceit to pull-off this type of crime.
White-collar crimes are usually non-violent crimes, often involving people with a certain level of organizational freedom or autonomy. This type of crime causes severe financial losses to employees, investors, and the company as a whole.
Common Types of White-Collar Crimes in the US
As mentioned, there is a wide variety of white-collar crimes in the US. This type of crime involves fraud, theft, and violation of statutory laws.
Here are some examples of the most common types of white-collar crimes today:
- Theft
Theft is perhaps one of the most known types of white-collar crimes around the world. If an employee is guilty of stealing goods, money, or other kinds of products and services that the company provides, they might be guilty of embezzlement or misappropriation of property.
Blackmail is another form of theft. If a person is guilty of demanding money in exchange for safety, protection, trade secrets, and the like, aggrieved parties may charge them with this white-collar crime.
- Fraud
Fraud involves a deliberate omission or misrepresentation of material facts to cause monetary loss to victims of the crime. For example, if a person is guilty of falsifying claims to increase their insurance claims, they are guilty of insurance fraud. If they print money or manufacture fake apparel or accessories, they are guilty of counterfeiting.
People who engage in fraudulent activities involving check forgery, mortgage fraud, false applications, and commercial loans are guilty of financial fraud. Other examples of fraud include computer fraud, healthcare fraud, bankruptcy fraud, credit card fraud, and securities fraud.
- Violation of Statutory Law
There is a wide-range of financial statutory laws that people must abide by in order to ensure a certain level of fairness in transactions everywhere in the world. When people disregard these guidelines, they can be guilty of violating statutory laws.
One example of statutory laws are anti-trust violations. If a person or a company is guilty of building monopolies and fixing prices for commercial gain, they can be charged with this white-collar crime. Other forms of statutory law violations include tax evasion, bribery, insider trading, money laundering, and public corruption.
Consult with a Trusted Criminal Lawyer Today!
If you or someone you may know are accused of white-collar crimes, you need to seek the help of experienced and stellar criminal lawyers around your area. These crimes can result to jail time, and even millions of dollars when it comes to damages and fines. Protect yourself by calling a trusted criminal law firm near you!
Written by Kellie Bertels, an attorney at Bandre, Hunt and Snider in Jefferson City, MO. Bandre, Hunt and Snider are the best attorneys Jefferson City MO have to offer.