Ch12: Economic Crimes: Blue-Collar, White-Collar, and Green-Collar

economic crime

an act committed in violation of the criminal law for the purpose of monetary gain and financial benefits

blue-collar crime

traditional common-law theft crimes such as larceny, burglary, and arson

white-collar crimes

crimes of business enterprise such as embezzlement, price fixing, and bribery

green-collar crimes

crimes that affect the environment

theft

the intentional taking, keeping, or using of another's property without authorization or permission

3 separate groups of property criminals in the 18th century

> skilled thieves

> smugglers

> poachers

skilled thieves

pickpockets, forgers, counterfeiters

smugglers

moved and transported goods, such as spirits, gems, gold, and spices, without paying tax or duty

poachers

lived in the country and supplemented their diet and income with game that belonged to a landlord

occasional criminals

offenders who do not define themselves by a criminal role or view themselves as committed career criminals

situational inducement

short-term influence on a person's behavior, such as financial problems or peer pressure, which increases risk taking

professional criminals

offenders who make a significant portion of their income from crime

larceny

taking for one's own use the property of another, by means other than force or threats on the victim or forcibly breaking into a person's home or workplace; simple theft; shoplifting, credit card theft, auto theft, bad checks, receiving and fencing stolen property

constructive possession

a legal fiction that applies to situations in which persons voluntarily give up physical custody of their property but still retain legal ownership

petit (petty) larceny

theft of a small amount of money or property, punished as a misdemeanor

grand larceny

theft of money or property of substantial value, punished as a felony

shoplifting

the taking of goods from retail stores

snitch

amateur shoplifter who does not self-identify as a thief but who systematically steals merchandise for personal use

booster (heel)

professional shoplifter who steals with the intention of reselling stolen merchandise

booster box

device with a false bottom that can be open and shut by a professional shoplifter, lined with metal or some other substance to prevent security tags from setting off alarms, placed over merchandise

merchant privilege laws

legislation that protects retailers and their employees from lawsuits if they arrest and detain a suspected shoplifter on reasonable grounds

credit card theft

can occur merely by unauthorized use of a credit card number

types of auto theft

> joyriding

> short-term transportation

> long-term transportation

> parts

> commission of another crime

joyriding

stealing a car to experience, even briefly, the benefits associated with owning an automobile

short-term transportation

the vehicle is stolen as a temporary means of transportation and then abandoned.

long-term transportation

the car is stolen for the purpose of providing a relatively permanent means of transportation for the thief

parts

auto strippers who steal batteries, tires, and wheel covers to reequip their own cars

commission of another crime

some steal cars to use in other crimes, such as robberies and thefts; thief desires both mobility and anonymity

car cloning

using a vehicle identification number (VIN) from a legally registered car to hide the identity of a stolen vehicle for resale

naive check fogers

amateurs who cash bad checks because of some financial crisis but have little identification with a criminal subculture

systematic forgers

professionals who make a living by passing bad checks

fence

a buyer and seller of stolen merchandise

burglary

entering a home by force, threat, or deception with intent to commit a crime

arson

the willful, malicious burning of a home, building, or vehicle

White-Collar Crime

any business-related act that uses deceit, deception, or dishonesty to carry out criminal enterprise: income tax evasion, employee theft, soliciting bribes, accepting kickbacks, embezzlement

business frauds and swindles

> ponzi schemes

> telemarketing swindles

Ponzi scheme

a type of swindle that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors

telemarketing swindles

occur when someone calls the victim, makes a false statement, and the misrepresentation causes the victim to give money to the caller

chiseling

using illegal means to cheat an organization, its consumers, or both, on a regular basis

insider trading

illegal buying of stock in a company on the basis of information provided by someone who has a fiduciary interest in the company

exploitation

forcing victims to pay for services or contracts to which they have a clear right

influence peddling

using one's institutional position to grant favors and sell information to which one's co-conspirators are not entitled

employee fraud and embezzlement

> employee theft and pilferage

> management fraud

> embezzlement

embezzlement

a type of larceny in which someone who is trusted with someone else's personal property fraudulently converts it to his or her own use or for the use of others

client fraud

involves cheating an organization by filing false claims for reimbursement for services provided or, conversely, failing to pay what is owed: health care fraud, tax evasion

health care fraud

any fraudulent act committed in the provision of health care products or services

tax evasion

willful failure to pay or under reporting taxes

corporate (organizational) crime

powerful institutions or their representatives willfully violate the laws that restrain these institutions from doing social harm or require them to do social good; illegal restraint of trade, price fixing, deceptive pricing

Sherman Antitrust Act

federal law that subjects to criminal or civil sanctions any person "who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy" in restraint of interstate commerce

price fixing

the illegal control by agreement among producers or manufacturers of the price of a commodity to avoid price competition and deprive the consumer of reasonable prices

deceptive pricing

when contractors provide the government or other corporations with incomplete or misleading information on how much it will actually cost to fulfill the contracts on which they are bidding, or use mischarges once the contracts are signed

false claims advertising

knowingly and purposely advertising a product as possessing qualities the manufacturer realizes it does not have

White collar crime has a number of different subcategories.

> white-collar fraud

> chiseling

> exploitation

> influence peddling and bribery

> embezzlement and employee fraud

> client fraud

> corporate (organizational) crime

__________-__________ fraud involves people using their __________ or __________ position to trick others out of their money.

White-collar; institutional; business

__________ involves __________ cheating of an __________ or its __________.

Chiseling; regular; organization; customers

People who engage in __________ demand payment for __________ to which __________ are entitled by threatening __________ if their clients __________.

exploitation; services; clients; consequences; refuse

Influence __________ and __________ occur when a person in __________ demands __________ for a service to which the payer is clearly not entitled from an __________.

peddling; bribery; authority; payment; organization

__________ and __________ __________ occur when a person uses a position of __________ to __________ from an organization.

Embezzlement; employee fraud; trust; steal

__________ __________ involves theft from an __________ that advances credit, covers losses, or reimburses for services.

Client fraud; organization

__________/__________ crime involves various illegal business practices, such as price fixing, restraint of trade, and false advertising.

corporate/organizational

Green-Collar Crime perspectives

legalist, environmental justice, biocentric, harms perspective

legalist perspective

environmental crimes are violations of existing criminal laws designed to protect people, the environment, or both

environmental justice perspective

limiting environmental crimes to actual violations of the criminal law is too narrow; should include all acts that have identifiable environmental damage outcomes and originated in human action

biocentric perspective

environmental harm is viewed as any human activity that disrupts a bio-system, destroying plant and animal life

harms perspective

the view that all activities that cause physical, financial/economic, emotional or psychological, and cultural harm to individuals and/or the environment should be criminalized

Forms of Green Crime

> worker safety/environmental crimes

> illegal logging

> illegal wildlife exports

> illegal fishing

> illegal dumping and polluting

criminal environmental pollution

a crime involving the intentional or negligent discharge into the bio-system of a toxic waste that destroys plant or animal life

Theories of White-Collar and Green-Collar Crime

> rational choice: greed, need

> rationalization/neutralization: what they did wasn't so bad/what some call crime is merely a "technicality"; they didn't really break the law, just bent it slightly

> cultural view: business culture

> self-control view: those who violate business or environmental laws have low self-control and are inclined to follow momentary impulses without considering long-term costs

Some offenders are motivated by __________; others offend in response to __________ __________.

greed; personal problems

The __________ view is that __________-__________ crime enables offenders to meet their __________ needs without __________ their values.

rationalization; white-collar; financial; compromising

__________ culture theory suggests that some businesses actually __________ employees to __________ or cut corners.

Corporate; encourage; cheat

The __________-__________ view is that white-collar criminals are like any other law violators: __________ people who lack __________-__________.

self-control; impulsive; self-control

__________ strategies for controlling white-collar crime rely on the threat of __________ __________ for violating the law.

Compliance; civil penalties

__________ systems seek to __________ white-collar crime by threatening to punish __________ with __________ sentences.

Deterrence; control; individuals; prison

Discuss the history of theft offenses.

Common theft offenses include larceny, fraud, and embezzlement. These are common-law crimes, originally defined by English judges. Skilled thieves included pickpockets, forgers, and counterfeiters, who operated freely. Smugglers transported goods, such as spirits, gems, gold, and spices, without paying tax or duty. Poachers supplemented their diet and income with game that belonged to a landlord.

Differentiate between professional and amateur thieves.

Economic crimes are designed to reap financial rewards for the offender. Opportunistic amateurs commit the majority of economic crimes. Economic crime has also attracted professional criminals. Professionals earn most of their income from crime, view themselves as criminals, and possess skills that aid them in their law-breaking behavior. An example of the professional criminal is the fence who buys and sells stolen merchandise.

Describe the various forms of shoplifting.

Some shoplifters are amateurs who steal on the spur of the moment. These snitches are otherwise respectable persons who do not conceive of themselves as thieves but systematically steal merchandise for their own use. Some adolescents become shoplifters because they have been coerced by older kids. Called boosters or heels, professional shoplifters steal with the intention of reselling stolen merchandise to pawnshops or fences, usually at half the original price. Boosters know how to hit stores without being detected and have partners who can unload merchandise after it is stolen.

Summarize the various forms of white-collar crime.

White-collar fraud involves using a business enterprise as a front to swindle people. Chiseling involves professionals who cheat clients. Embezzlement and employee fraud occur when a person uses a position of trust to steal from an organization. Client fraud involves theft from an organization that advances credit, covers losses, or reimburses for services. Corporate, or organizational, crime involves various illegal business practices such as price fixing, restraint of trade, and false advertising.

Explain what is meant by the term Ponzi scheme.

A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. In many Ponzi schemes, the fraudsters focus on attracting new money to make promised payments to earlier-stage investors and to use for personal expenses, instead of engaging in any legitimate investment activity. The term comes from one Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands of New England residents into investing in a postage stamp speculation scheme back in the 1920s.

Discuss efforts to control white-collar and green-collar crime.

The government has used various law enforcement strategies to combat white-collar and green-collar crime. Some involve deterrence, which uses punishment to frighten potential abusers. Others involve economic or compliance strategies, which create economic incentives to obey the law. Most offenders do not view themselves as criminals and therefore do not seem to be deterred by criminal statutes. Although thousands of white-collar criminals are prosecuted each year, their numbers are insignificant compared with the magnitude of the problem. Detection and enforcement are primarily in the hands of administrative departments and agencies, including the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the Secret Service, US Customs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. On the state and local levels, law enforcement officials have made progress in a number of areas, such as controlling consumer fraud and enviornmental pollution.