White-collar crimes are those crimes that are committed for financial gains. These crimes are committed for personal or business gain. These are generally non-violent crimes but are characterized by aspects such as deceit, violation of trust, etc.
White-collar is a phrase used to describe the elite or the affluent class of society. These people are high institutes and have a high social standing. White-collar crimes have expanded over the years. Unfortunately, technology and new financial instruments have further increased the scope of these crimes.
Types of White Collar Crimes
-
Corporate Frauds
These are crimes such as large-scale frauds committed against an organization or a government institution. They are committed by people who are a part of the organization to the institution and they impact the entire institution.
In the US corporate frauds are considered major crimes and are dealt with severely. This is because such frauds not only cause significant losses to the investors but also impact the US economy.
Some examples of corporate fraud are, when the creation of accounting schemes to deceive investors, auditors, etc. Corporate fraud may also be committed when an employee uses the investor’s money for his personal benefit.
-
Money Laundering
In layman’s terms, money laundering can be understood as, “converting black money to white.” In other words, this is a crime that involves converting the money generated through illegal activities to appear as if it is being created from a legal business enterprise. In such cases, investigations are carried out not only against the money laundering activity but also the criminal activity through which the funds were generated.
-
Securities and Commodities Fraud
Securities frauds may be perpetrated by an individual or an organization. For instance, it could be a stockbroker or a brokerage firm. Securities frauds are quite common in schemes like insider trading.
Investment frauds are commonly seen in categories such as real estate, commodities, or securities. They are usually perpetrated by promising the investors high returns while suggesting to the investors that there are little or no risks involved with the investment.
-
Broker Embezzlement
These crimes are conducted by brokers who steal funds from their clients using false documents.
-
Cyber Crimes
Cybercrimes are also classified as white-collar crimes because they are perpetrated by educated people who understand the nuances of computer hardware and software. These crimes are conducted to extract confidential data and embezzle funds.
In addition to these several other financial frauds are categorized as white collar crimes. For instance, a promissory note fraud in which non-existent companies issue short-term debt instruments that promise high returns.
The US law prescribes statutes and acts against all such white-collar criminal activities. Criminal charges are pressed against anyone found suspicious of having committed a white collar crime.
All you need to do is connect with an efficient lawyer to represent you in any such case. Autrey Law firm has expert criminal lawyers who understand all aspects of different types of crimes and provide the best representation to their clients.
