White-Collar Crime

White-collar crime is the nerdy kind of crime: no guns, no direct violence, no taking physical things that aren’t yours. White-collar crime is paperwork crime: changing numbers and setting up impossible mazes of red tape to hide your sketchy dealings. Think: securities fraud, laundering money, embezzlement, and corporate fraud. Any kind of financial fraud is considered white-collar crime.

People who work jobs that make them enough money to be considered a white-collar worker are sometimes in the position where they can commit white-collar crime. Some famous white-collar criminals include Bernie Madoff, Charles Ponzi (See: Ponzi Scheme), and Enron (a company that did plenty of lying and fraudulent activity...they’re gone now).

The federal government, namely the FBI and the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission...the same group protecting your money from your bank in case they commit white-collar fraud), are the main investigateurs of white-collar crime in the U.S. While many have faced steep fines and prison time for white-collar crime, a whole boatload of individuals and companies alike got off scot-free when they shouldn’t have. But we here at Shmoop believe in karma, in this life or the next, baby.