Financial fraud in the United States costs nearly $400 billion annually. The executives responsible for this corporate duplicity usually earn excellent salaries. So why do they become criminals? Harvard Business School professor Eugene Soltes shares his findings after years of extensive research. His numerous case histories make for fascinating reading. He speaks almost exclusively about men so don't look for gender-neutral pronouns. As Soltes explains, "Women are conspicuously absent from the ranks of prominent white-collar criminals." getAbstract recommends his compelling study to business students and professors, executives, business pundits, financial law enforcement officials and anyone who handles the money.
`This timely collection contains contemporary case studies and critical analyses by leading writers in the study of white collar corporate crime. It makes an invaluable contribution to the ′criminology of the corporation′" - Professor Hazel Croall, Glasgow Caledonian University Corporate and White Collar Crime is an essential overview of this diverse subject area and encourages students to develop a broad understanding of the topic. Aimed primarily at undergraduate and postgraduate students in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Business and Management Studies, the book will cross-over into many other disciplines including Law and Social Policy. "This is an innovative and multidisciplinary analysis of corporate and white collar crime that is both theoretically and empirically rich. The text serves as a poignant reminder why research involving the powerful must be a central part of criminological inquiry and why this book is essential reading." Professor Reece Walters, The Open University "Again and again, pension funds are pillaged, investors fleeced, commuters killed, workers maimed, and communities poisoned. Why is it that so few of these acts are defined as crimes, and why is it that, even when they are, prosecution is so rarely effective? Corporate Crime and White Collar Crime addresses these very questions through its rigorous, well-developed analysis and its wide ranging empirical focus - on Europe, North America, Asia and beyond. The book can help all of us to re-examine our understanding of the nature of crime and of criminals, and to reassess the costs as well as the benefits of our current economic, political and social order." Professor Frank Pearce, Queen′s University, Canada
Insider trading. Savings and loan scandals. Enron. Corporate crimes were once thought of as victimless offenses, but now—with billions of dollars and an increasingly global economy at stake—this is understood to be far from the truth. The International Handbook of White-Collar and Corporate Crime explores the complex interplay of factors involved when corporate cultures normalize lawbreaking, and when organizational behavior is pushed to unethical (and sometimes inhumane) limits. Featuring original contributions from a panel of experts representing North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia, this timely volume presents multidisciplinary views on recent corporate wrongdoing affecting economic and social conditions worldwide. Criminal liability and intent Stock market and financial crime Bribery and extortion Computer and identity fraud Health care fraud Crime in the professions Industrial pollution Political corruption War crimes and genocide Contributors offer case studies, historical and sociopolitical analyses, theoretical and legal perspectives, and comparative studies, featuring examples as varied as NASA, Parmalat, the Italian government, and Watergate. Criminal justice responses to these phenomena, the role of the media in exposing or minimizing them, prevention, regulation, and self- policing strategies, and larger global issues emerging from economic crime are also featured. Richly diverse in its coverage, The International Handbook of White-Collar and Corporate Crime is stimulating reading for students, academics, and professionals in a wide range of fields, from criminology and criminal justice to business and economics, psychology to social policy to ethics. This powerful information is certain to change many of our deeply held views on criminal behavior.
In a thorough reappraisal of the white-collar and corporate crime scene, this Second Edition builds on the first edition to complete the criminal narrative in an outstanding reference resource.
A study and analysis of lack of enforcement against criminal actions in corporate America and what can be done to fix it. In the early 2000s, federal enforcement efforts sent white collar criminals at Enron and WorldCom to prison. But since the 2008 financial collapse, this famously hasn’t happened. Corporations have been permitted to enter into deferred prosecution agreements and avoid criminal convictions, in part due to a mistaken assumption that leniency would encourage cooperation and because enforcement agencies don’t have the funding or staff to pursue lengthy prosecutions, says distinguished Columbia Law Professor John C. Coffee. “We are moving from a system of justice for organizational crime that mixed carrots and sticks to one that is all carrots and no sticks,” he says. He offers a series of bold proposals for ensuring that corporate malfeasance can once again be punished. For example, he describes incentives that could be offered to both corporate executives to turn in their corporations and to corporations to turn in their executives, allowing prosecutors to play them off against each other. Whistleblowers should be offered cash bounties to come forward because, Coffee writes, “it is easier and cheaper to buy information than seek to discover it in adversarial proceedings.” All federal enforcement agencies should be able to hire outside counsel on a contingency fee basis, which would cost the public nothing and provide access to discovery and litigation expertise the agencies don't have. Through these and other equally controversial ideas, Coffee intends to rebalance the scales of justice. “Professor Coffee’s compelling new approach to holding fraudsters to account is indispensable reading for any lawmaker serious about deterring corporate crime.” —Robert Jackson, professor of Law, New York University, and former commissioner, Securities and Exchange Commission “A great book that more than any other recent volume deftly explains why effective prosecution of corporate senior executives largely collapsed in the post-2007–2009 stock market crash period and why this creates a crisis of underenforcement. No one is Professor Coffee’s equal in tying together causes for the crisis.” —Joel Seligman, author, historian, former law school dean, and president emeritus, University of Rochester
When does cutting corners in pursuit of corporate profit become a crime? When should the misdeeds of government officials warrant a prison sentence? This lucid introduction to the notoriously complex problem of white-collar crime provides students with a set of tools for exploring the abuse of corporate and government power.
A comprehensive and state-of the-art overview from internationally-recognized experts on white-collar crime covering a broad range of topics from many perspectives Law enforcement professionals and criminal justice scholars have debated the most appropriate definition of “white-collar crime” ever since Edwin Sutherland first coined the phrase in his speech to the American Sociological Society in 1939. The conceptual ambiguity surrounding the term has challenged efforts to construct a body of science that meaningfully informs policy and theory. The Handbook of White-Collar Crime is a unique re-framing of traditional discussions that discusses common topics of white-collar crime—who the offenders are, who the victims are, how these crimes are punished, theoretical explanations—while exploring how the choice of one definition over another affects research and scholarship on the subject. Providing a one-volume overview of research on white-collar crime, this book presents diverse perspectives from an international team of both established and newer scholars that review theory, policy, and empirical work on a broad range of topics. Chapters explore the extent and cost of white-collar crimes, individual- as well as organizational- and macro-level theories of crime, law enforcement roles in prevention and intervention, crimes in Africa and South America, the influence of technology and globalization, and more. This important resource: Explores diverse implications for future theory, policy, and research on current and emerging issues in the field Clarifies distinct characteristics of specific types of offences within the general archetype of white-collar crime Includes chapters written by researchers from countries commonly underrepresented in the field Examines the real-world impact of ambiguous definitions of white-collar crime on prevention, investigation, and punishment Offers critical examination of how definitional decisions steer the direction of criminological scholarship Accessible to readers at the undergraduate level, yet equally relevant for experienced practitioners, academics, and researchers, The Handbook of White-Collar Crime is an innovative, substantial contribution to contemporary scholarship in the field.
This timely and engaging text introduces the key topics in White Collar Crime, while providing an overview of both organizational and criminological theory. Throughout the text, Law in the Real World examples and in-depth Case Studies offer the opportunity to apply the theoretical to actual situations. Throughout the text, experienced author Laura Pinto Hansen discusses the cultural and structural reasons for why white collar crime happens, even in the most regulated of industries, including financial markets and medicine. White Collar and Corporate Crime: A Case Study Approach provides the perfect introduction to the world of white collar crime. Professors and students will benefit from: Law in the Real World feature explores both well-known and lesser known examples of white collar crime, providing exposure to a wide variety of crimes in an understandable context. Discussion questions encourage students to analyze these examples in more depth. Case Studies provide an opportunity to dive deeper into a single white collar crime case related to the specific chapter. Broad coverage of a wide range of topics in a readable and engaging style. Chapters include chapter objectives, a glossary of key terms, and chapter summaries to help students understand new concepts. An introductory chapter that familiarizes students with how organizations are supposed to work, in theory, if they plan on functioning within legal boundaries. Coverage of the role of social networks in white collar crime, including its theory and terminology and use in criminal investigations in Chapter 3 Examination of the intersection of cybercrime and white collar crime in Chapter 7 Timely coverage, including the recent impeachment proceedings and effects of COVID-19
This text presents evidence to support a thesis that there is much crime in the upper socio-economic classes and only the administrative procedures, used to deal with it, separate it from other animal behavior.
In this eagerly awaited Second Edition, distinguished scholar Kathleen Brickey thoroughly updates her superbly written, comprehensive casebook CORPORATE AND WHITE COLLAR CRIME: Cases and Materials to keep pace with this fast-moving area. Logically organized, the book begins with two chapters that explore the theories under which criminal liability is imposed on corporations and individuals. From there, Brickey addresses the basic principles of criminal liability and systematically examines the major federal statutes commonly invoked in prosecution. Topics range from mail fraud, perjury, and obstruction of justice to bribery, RICO, tax crimes, and workplace death and injury. For each crime, Professor Brickey focuses on the basic principles of corporate and criminal liability and the major cases involved. The Second Edition includes: increased coverage of RICO, including new developments at the Surpreme Court level and reform efforts in Congress important new Supreme Court decisions, including National Organization for Women v. Scheidler, Reves v. Ernst & young, and Alexander v. United States an extensively revised conspiracy chapter coverage of the first corporate death sentence case under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations an expanded chapter on environmental crimes, including material on the knowing endangerment provision of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and CERCLA Brickey enhances student understanding through problems, case studies, and excerpts from articles that illustrate the context of the issues. In addition, a statutory supplement accompanies the casebook.
