What are White Collar Crimes?

White-collar crimes are considered crimes that are distinguished by hiding or deceit to avoid losing property or money. In return, the person committing a white-collar crime does so to receive a personal or business benefit. Several examples of white-collar crimes are insider tracking, embezzlement, bribery, and money laundering. Continue reading to .

Types of White Collar Crimes

White-collar crimes don’t involve violence but do involve concealing or fraudulently trying to avoid losing money for personal or business benefit.

The following are various types of :

Bribery

Bribery is a criminal offense that involves offering another individual cash or a product in exchange for a favor. The favor is typically something that is valuable and designed to control the behavior of another person. For example, bribery would be considered bribing an employee that works for customs in order to transport goods that are otherwise banned.

Fraud

Fraud is another type of white-collar crime and involves deceiving in order to gain money. Money is the motive for most fraudsters whether it provides a direct or indirect gain. There are various sources that fraudsters use to gain their benefit whether it be via emails, websites, or phone calls to scam their victims.

Wage Theft

Wage theft occurs when a company declines to payan employee’s benefits or wages that they have rightfully earned.

Insider Trading

Malpractice or insider trading occurs when individuals swap company secrets that are otherwise not supposed to be made public. This type of white-collar crime occurs by employees of a company with the goal to use this information to cheat.

Embezzlement

When an individual commits  they are stealing funds or assets that are the property of a government or employer. The majority of embezzlement cases are committed by management. A few of these crimes are committed by C-level executives.

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is another type of white-collar crime that involves a string of various crimes such as privacy violation, identity theft, hacking into computer networks, and more. This type of crime occurs via a computer.

Racketeering

People who commit acts of racketeering involve themselves in illegal strategies. These types of crime occur by acquiring a company by illegal means, using a company to commit illegal activities, etc.

White-Collar Attorneys

White-collar attorneys may work directly for the government, or they may work in a private practice firm. Attorneys that work for the government may be employed via the FBI or the National White Collar Crime Center. Some white-collar attorneys prosecute individuals that have committed a white-collar crime, while others defend them.

For prosecutors, they must determine whether the person being charged with a crime intentionally did so. The case must show evidence such as financial documents and practices that show exactly what the funds were used for.

Defense attorneys for white-collar crimes have a duty to prove that their client did not in fact commit a crime. They assist their clients with various issues including bribery, tax fraud, insider trading, and more.