There are numerous types of white collar crime in Tennessee and around the country, and some people do not see it as serious as other types of crime. For victims of white collar crimes, however, the consequences can be major. This is why the federal government takes these cases very seriously. They spend a lot of resources investigating them, and there are serious penalties for those with convictions.
According to King University, a white collar crime is nonviolent and occurs in a commercial-type setting in the interest of financial gain. The perpetrators of this type of crime can be corporations or individuals, and the financial losses to the United States are around $300 billion every year. Most incidents require sophisticated planning and follow-through, and that makes them harder to investigate and prosecute.
There are many different kinds of crime that constitute a white collar one, and the FBI highlights the ones that it investigates the most. Corporate fraud is a top priority, as this can cause substantial financial harm to investors and the country’s economy. The FBI focuses the majority of its attention on three areas:
- Self-dealing by executives
- Accounting schemes
- Obstruction of justice
Securities and commodities fraud is another type of white collar crime the Bureau focuses on. This includes investment fraud such as Ponzi schemes, advance fee fraud and pyramid schemes. Other types include embezzlement, promissory note fraud and market manipulation.
Money laundering is another common area of investigation. This occurs when someone makes money through a particular crime, such as trafficking, financial crimes or terrorism, and then reinvests it through legitimate sources to conceal the proceeds.
Because of their complexities, the FBI works with a variety of other law enforcement groups as well as private and governmental entities throughout their investigations.