150 words long if your agree or disagree There is a good chance that if you watch any national news broadcast, there is a good chance that there will be a mention of some sort of white collar crime.  The three infamous white collar crimes that come to mind after reading this week’s lesson is that of Charles Ponzi (Ponzi Scheme), Kenneth Lay (ENRON) and John Rigas (Adelphia Communications).  Albeit these cases are historical, they continue to effect current events and public opinions as it pertains to current case laws. White collar, also known as corporate crime, as the name demonstrates, focuses around criminal acts pertaining to businesses. These wrongdoings normally include monetary value and different types of fraud.  One of the biggest issues that face these types of crime is the loss of trust by the citizens when dealing with large corporations.   An article that was published in Crime & Delinquency attempted to highlight a study of why white collar crime is committed by those in corporate positions.  One of the theories pertained to the “fear of falling”.  In other words, those that have worked hard and dedicated so much time to one’s success may violate laws for the fear of losing what they have worked for (Piquero, 2012).  Case laws and sentencing guidelines are constantly being reviewed as it pertains to the sentencing of these white-collar crimes.  In 2008, an article was published in the Wall Street Journal that discussed revising the current policies on punishments and how the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office handle these types of investigations.  Some law makers felt that the DOJ and the USAO were to aggressive in pursuing criminal charges against companies (Perez, 2008).  Regardless on the stance, public trust is paramount when it comes to investing and that is why it is imperative that these individuals that break the regulatory standards are held accountable and punishment should be swift and harsh.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation and their Uniform Crime Reporting Data does not show the complete picture of frequency on white-collar crimes in the United States.  According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Criminal Information Services Division, the definition itself of a white-collar crime is contentiously debated.  There are currently three placements for the term: white-collar crime defined by the type of offender, type of offense and organizational culture.  Utilizing the traditional Summary Reporting System, the data would be incomplete due to the socioeconomic characteristics (Barnett, 2000).   Since this crime typically does not illicit violence and is not placed in the same conversation socially with criminal offenders, many view this simply as fraud with minimal retribution.  These crimes are serious and misplace the trust of many citizens.  Speaking on the cooperate level, I believe that punishments should impact more than just the upper fall guy but more encompassing thro ...

1. 150 words long if your agree or disagree
There is a good chance that if you watch any national news
broadcast, there is a good chance that there will be a mention of
some sort of white collar crime. The three infamous white
collar crimes that come to mind after reading this week’s lesson
is that of Charles Ponzi (Ponzi Scheme), Kenneth Lay (ENRON)
and John Rigas (Adelphia Communications). Albeit these cases
are historical, they continue to effect current events and public
opinions as it pertains to current case laws.
White collar, also known as corporate crime, as the name
demonstrates, focuses around criminal acts pertaining to
businesses. These wrongdoings normally include monetary
value and different types of fraud. One of the biggest issues
that face these types of crime is the loss of trust by the citizens
when dealing with large corporations. An article that was
published in Crime & Delinquency attempted to highlight a
study of why white collar crime is committed by those in
corporate positions. One of the theories pertained to the “fear
of falling”. In other words, those that have worked hard and
dedicated so much time to one’s success may violate laws for
the fear of losing what they have worked for (Piquero, 2012).
Case laws and sentencing guidelines are constantly being
reviewed as it pertains to the sentencing of these white-collar
crimes. In 2008, an article was published in the Wall Street
Journal that discussed revising the current policies on
punishments and how the Department of Justice and the United
States Attorney’s Office handle these types of investigations.
Some law makers felt that the DOJ and the USAO were to
aggressive in pursuing criminal charges against companies
(Perez, 2008). Regardless on the stance, public trust is
paramount when it comes to investing and that is why it is
imperative that these individuals that break the regulatory

2. standards are held accountable and punishment should be swift
and harsh.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and their Uniform Crime
Reporting Data does not show the complete picture of frequency
on white-collar crimes in the United States. According to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation – Criminal Information
Services Division, the definition itself of a white-collar crime is
contentiously debated. There are currently three placements for
the term: white-collar crime defined by the type of offender,
type of offense and organizational culture. Utilizing the
traditional Summary Reporting System, the data would be
incomplete due to the socioeconomic characteristics (Barnett,
2000).
Since this crime typically does not illicit violence and is not
placed in the same conversation socially with criminal
offenders, many view this simply as fraud with minimal
retribution. These crimes are serious and misplace the trust of
many citizens. Speaking on the cooperate level, I believe that
punishments should impact more than just the upper fall guy but
more encompassing throughout the company. When multiple
executive heads face prison, it may serve as a reminder for the
others that the Department of Justice will act swiftly and carry a
broad sword.
References:
Barnett, Cynthia. 2000. "The Measurement of White- Collar
Crime using Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Data" (NCJ 202866).
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau
of Investigation, Criminal Information Services Division.
Retrieved September 15, 2012 (
https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=2028
66
).

3. Perez, E. (2008, July 10). U.S. Is Revising Rules On White-
Collar Crime. Wall Street Journal, p. A.12. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/399084271/
Piquero, N. L. (2012). The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear
Itself: Investigating the Relationship Between Fear of Falling
and White-Collar Crime. Crime & Delinquency, 58(3), 362–379.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128711405005