White-collar crime is mainly used to categorize crimes committed by respectable persons, government, and businesses. The characteristics of these crimes include violation of trust, concealment, and deceit. It generally doesn’t depend on the use of violence or force. The aim of a white-collar crime is usually for financial gain.

Have you been accused of a white-collar crime, and you don’t know what to do and what to avoid? You can speak to an experienced criminal defense lawyer from reputable law firms like Carlson Meissner Hart & Hayslett, P.A. You can read more from their site to learn about your rights.

TYPES OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIMES

PONZI SCHEME

This was named after the first perpetrator of the scheme—Charles Ponzi. It is an investment scam that promises its investors a significantly high return on investment. To make the system work and attract more people, old members are paid with new members’ funds. Eventually, the platform will run out of new members and crash, leaving investors with huge losses.

EMBEZZLEMENT

This is a type of white-collar crime that may involve an employee diverting some company’s cash from the company’s safe for personal use. Simply put, embezzlement means the misappropriation or theft of money placed in your care.

MONEY LAUNDERING

Money laundering is a peculiar service rendered to criminals to help “clean” their money. It entails the funneling of cash through numerous accounts and businesses until it can’t be traced back to its crime source. The cash becomes intertwined with revenues from the legitimate source and can no longer be linked to the crime.

ESPIONAGE

This is also referred to as spying. It is the act of obtaining a confidential secret or divulging it without the consent of the owner. Although espionage is most associated with government bodies, it could also extend to commercial organizations.

FRAUD

Fraud is a broad word used for various types of schemes used to trick people out of their cash. A common type of fraud is asking people to send a small processing fee to receive a huge amount of money in return—fraud cuts across all levels and social strata.

INSIDER TRADING

This occurs when a trader has access to information that is not available to the public. This type of information gives him or her an edge in the financial market. For instance, a staff of an investment bank who knows that firm A is about to buy firm B can go ahead to buy a massive chunk of firm A’s stock in hopes that the news will push the stock price. This is insider trading, and it is a punishable offense.

IDENTITY THEFT AND CYBERCRIME

The two most popular computer crimes are identity theft and computer hacking. The perpetrators of these two computer crimes have stolen an unimaginable amount, especially in the USA. In 2019, approximately $2 billion was lost to identity theft alone.

CLASSES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

INDIVIDUAL CRIME

These are crimes perpetrated by an individual or group of people. A perfect example of this is the Ponzi scheme. Other examples are hacking, fraud and counterfeiting.

CORPORATE CRIME

They are white-collar crimes that occur at the corporate level. For instance, a brokerage company may allow its employees to carry out insider trading to benefit its investors.

Committing a white-collar crime can lead to a lengthy jail term and a heavy fine. If you are being charged with this crime, you must reach out to an experienced lawyer immediately.