This PowerPoint offers a brief overview of the notion of corporate crime and few examples that have taken place over the years.

1. Corporate Crimes
Oneil Blake

2. Corporate crime, sometimes referred to as white collar crime, was defined by in
1939 by criminologist Edwin Sutherland as a crime “committed by a person of
respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.”
Common examples of such crimes include:
➔ Falsifying information on financial statements
➔ Manipulating the stock market
➔ Bribery
➔ Bribery of public officials
➔ False claims in advertising
➔ Embezzlement
➔ Damage caused to the environment due to negligence
What is Corporate Crime?

3. Corporate crimes are being committed on large and
small scales every day. While many white collar
criminals will not get caught, in the last decade the
government and private citizen groups have rallied
together to better protect American citizens from such
criminals through legislation, punishment, and
accountability.
Who are the Corporate Criminals?

4. ➔ Falsified Financials and Accounting Fraud – Enron: Enron, an American energy
company, was revealed to have hid billions of dollars in debt from stockholders
through accounting loopholes and falsified financial statements. In 2001, the
company went bankrupt and stockholders lost $11 billion dollars. The Enron stock
plummeted from $90 per share in 2000 to $1.00 per share by the end of 2001. A
handful of Enron executives were indicted and some went to prison.
➔ Environmental – Exxon Corporation and Exxon Shipping: In 1991, Exxon was
responsible for approximately 11 million gallons of oil spilled near the Alaska
shoreline. Wildlife was killed, thousands of Native Americans lost their way of life,
and Exxon was criminally fined $110 million for the damage.
➔ Illegal Exports – IBM East Europe/Asia Ltd.: In 1998, a branch of IBM was
charged with exporting computers to a Russian nuclear lab that was believed to be
testing, constructing, and maintaining nuclear explosives. The fine was $8.5 million.
Examples of Corporate Crime

5. Questions ?
What do you think can be done to reduce the amount of
corporate crimes that take place in the United States?
Who should be blamed the most for the majority of the
corporate crimes that take place? The corporations or the
government?

6. ❖ Sanders, Clifford. "Corporate Criminals." Criminology. Criminology, 2014.
Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
Reference