White-Collar Crime

1049 Words3 Pages

Today, worldwide, there are several thousands of crimes being committed. Some don’t necessarily require a lethal weapon but are associated with various types of sophisticated fraud, this also known as a white-collar crime. These crimes involve a few different methods that take place within a business setting. While ethical business practices add money to the bottom line, unethical practices are ultimately leading to business failure and impacting the U.S. financially. The forms of bribery and embezzlement have been around longer than dirt. The earliest white-collar crime, that was documented, dates back to the 15th century in England. The law was forced upon society in 1473 in response to embezzlement, or also recognized as the Carrier’s Case. In this situation, a wool representative gave a man his trust in transporting. Unfortunately, the man ended up attempting to steal some of the wool for himself. Although, these terms were known around this time, the concept of the crime wasn’t well understood until around the 20th century ("History of White-Collar Crime”). Most people consider this crime to consist of CEO’s manipulating their way to making a large fortune. This of course, is true most of the time in high-profile cases. For example, in late 2001 Enron Corporation executives confessed to overstating the company’s earnings. This lead to artificially inflating what the company was worth and deceived the investors. It took some time to unravel all the fraud put behind this devious act but shows how sophisticated white-collar crime can be. Although it’s usually associated with upper management of corporations, people from all different levels and occupations can perform this crime ("How White-collar Crime Works"). Soon after E... ... middle of paper ... ...te-collar Crime Impacts Society." How Stuff Works. How Stuff Works Inc. , n.d. Web. 3 Mar 2014. . McGrath, Jane. "Preventing and Punishing White-collar Crime." How Stuff Works. How Stuff Works Inc. , n.d. Web. 3 Mar 2014. . McGrath, Jane. "How Stuff Works." High-profile White-Collar Crime. How Stuff Works Inc., 26 Mar 2014. Web. 26 Mar 2014. . McGrath, Jane. "How Stuff Works." History of White-Collar Crime.” How Stuff Works Inc., 26 Mar 2014. Web. 26 Mar 2014. . McGrath, Jane. "How Stuff Works." The Evolution of White-Collar Crime.” How Stuff Works Inc., 26 Mar 2014. Web. 26 Mar 2014. .

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