White collar crime is a term we often hear when there is a description, in the news or elsewhere, of a particular criminal charge. But just what is a “white collar crime,” and how are these offenses prosecuted?
In a very general sense, the difference between white collar crimes and other offenses is that the former are non-violent. Our attention is immediately drawn to financial crimes such as embezzlement, wire fraud, tax evasion, and insider trading, to name just a few. It is also true that the majority of white collar crimes are prosecuted under federal law, although there are a host of offenses in the Arizona Criminal Code that most agree would fall under the white collar crime umbrella. They include certain theft crimes, forgery, credit card fraud (along with many different fraud categories), embezzlement, and perjury, to name just a few.
What is notable about the classification is that white collar crimes almost always involve some sort of deception or attempted deception. For example:
- Fraud.
- Perjury.
- Bribery.
- Ponzi Schemes.
- Blackmail.
- Identity Theft.
- Antitrust Violations.
- Computer Crimes.
The history of the term “white collar crime” is interesting. It was first introduced by a criminologist, Edwin Sutherland, in 1939. Sutherland said it applied to people of high social status, who were “respectable.” He coined the phrase in order to challenge the notion, prevalent at the time, that crime was committed largely by “lower class” individuals,” i.e., while white collar crimes were committed by folks whose crimes related in large part to their occupations.
Whatever the history of the term may be, the fact is that white collar crime has become a major focus of law enforcement, particularly on the federal level, and the potential penalties for a violation can be severe.
Law Offices of David A. Black
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Phoenix, AZ 85004
(480) 280-8028