History of White Collar Crime and its Repercussions on the Country

Introduction 

People tend to think more about violent crimes, when it comes to crime. White collar crime is critical as it affects the financial stability of the United States and is invisible to society. My view on white collar crime is that it’s a way criminals can become very rich. There is a slim chance of them being caught, also they don’t have to do any physical harm to others to make it work. These crimes cost society so much money and they still go unnoticed for a considerable amount of time. These crimes that come in different categories have a large effect on the country’s economic stability. The categories include money laundering, bonding and falsification.

Motive and Significant Implications of White Collar Crime

Around a thousand years ago, in the 15th century England, white collar crimes were documented. This case is called Carriers Case and it’s about an agent who was trying to steal wool that he was supposed to transport. This case is what started white collar crimes, also known as embezzlement. Credit washing, fraud, forgery, bribery and much more come together with embezzlement. Money laundering is currently one of the most expensive crimes in this area. In John Madinger’s book, Money Laundering: A Guide for Criminal Investigators, he describes money laundering as “the use of money derived from illegal activity by concealing the identity of the individuals who obtained the money and converting it into assets that appear to have come from a legitimate source” (Madinger & Zalopany, 1999). In the background, money laundering and all other forms of white collar criminal activity revolve around money. These crimes are not harmful to the victims but they are financially driven, and both the victim and the nation suffer enormous financial distress. White collar criminals were also called artists because they are able to persuade people to spend money. These criminals often possess two personalities, low control on themselves and a willingness to control. There is limited evidence that low self-control forecasts white collar offenders, but the control desire was largely associated with corporate crime (Listwan, Piquero, and Voorhis, 2010).

Motive and Significant Implications of White Collar Crime

In addition, the same motivation for these artists is money. A series of prosecutor interviews have shown that the motivating factors for white collar criminals are: money, chance, greed, entitlement and competitiveness (Bucy 2008,). They simply don’t think their actions have long-lasting consequences. Such crimes have costly consequences for themselves. This has implications for all types of business. It cost 300-600 billion dollars a year to the country’s economy (Rosen, 2016). The FBI admits that white collar criminals ‘ arrest rates are considerably lower than any other offenses. The only evidence is paper trails, yet, because of computer scams, the paper trails have been so minimal that they need time and ability to investigate by making them harder for people to solve (McGrath, 2008). The consequences for a white collar criminal when they are caught can be very brutal. In the thirty-year Ponzi scheme of Bernie Madoff, investors have been knocked out of almost one billion dollars and sentenced to 150 years in prison (Rosen, 2016). These artists are able to commit these crimes for a long period of time before they are even caught.

White Collar Crimes Overshadowed

However, no one is really aware of what is happening except for those involved when these crimes happen: forgery, fraud and money laundering. There is no evidence, footprints, eyewitnesses or smoking guns to continue if fraudes are suspected. The criminals can leave paper trails that are so difficult that time and ability to deal with them is needed. (Franz Martin, 2008). Computer crimes are more uncontrolled and therefore are harder to solve as technology advances and Internet usage increases (McGrath, 2008). The FBI usually focuses on the more complex cases, working in close cooperation with regulatory agencies and partner law enforcement organizations, in which the office has a unique expertise or capability to enhance the investigation success (White Collar Crime, 2016). Irrespective of their complexity, they remain unnoticed in comparison with violent criminality.

Summary and Conclusion

In sum, white collar crime is a nonviolent crime that is committed by government and industry professionals. It’s a breach of confidence for some financial gain in the end. The fifteenth century white collar crime is the source of many types of white collar crime. In the country’s financial stability, white collar crime plays an important role. White collar crime has many effects and causes. White collar crimes includes forgery, fraud, maliciousness, pontians, etc. These crimes make sure that over the course of 1 year, the country receives billions of dollars in debt. White collar crimes are overshadowed by the fact that no noticeable proof of the occurrence of such crimes. White collar crimes come in various categories and are not physically detectable. It can be totally undetected for some time and cost hundreds of billions of dollars to the country. White collar crime may harm society, but the impact on the finances of the whole country is significantly negative.

References

• Bucy, Pamela. H. (2008). WHY DO THEY DO IT?: THE MOTIVES, MORES, AND CHARACTER OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMINALS. (pp.401-571)
• Listwan, S. J., Piquero, N. L., & Voorhis, P. V. (2010). Recidivism Among a White-Collar Sample: Does Personality Matter? Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology,43(1), 156-174. doi:10.1375/acri.43.1.156
• Madinger, J., & Zalopany, S. A. (1999). Money laundering: A guide for criminal investigators. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
• McGrath, J. (2008, December 10). How White-collar Crime Works., from https://money.howstuffworks.com/white-collar-crime5.htm
• Rosen, S. (2016, October 20). The Devastating Effects of White Collar Crime., from https://newswire.net/newsroom/news/00093926-the-devastating-effects-of-white-collar-crime.html
• White-Collar Crime. (2016, May 03)., from https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime