White Collar Crime

This book aims to bridge the gap between general CEO research, which is traditionally focused on positive aspects of leadership, and lesser understood research into CEO misconduct and crime. Gottschalk introduces convenience theory as an integrated explanation for CEO involvement in white-collar crime.

Crimes of Privilege: Readings in White-Collar Crime examines the current state of knowledge about and debate over white-collar crime. One of the most challenging and controversial topics in sociology, white-collar crime differs fundamentally from street crime because those who commit ittypically lead lives of privilege. Written by top scholars in the field, the thirty-one selections in this book include both previously published works as well as original papers. All have been significantly edited for readability and suitability for students. Organized by rational-choice theory,the readings examine the nature and sources of white-collar crime opportunities, the characteristics of white-collar offenders, white-collar criminal decision-making processes, and diverse approaches to controlling white-collar crime. Crimes of Privilege: Readings in White-Collar Crime also includestwenty-one panels chosen or prepared specifically to illustrate issues discussed in the readings. Taken primarily from local and regional newspapers or from exemplary studies of white-collar crime, some panels summarize key research on the topic while others show that a great deal of white-collarcrime occurs close to home; white-collar crime is not a problem confined to Washington, D.C., to Wall Street, or to the world's largest corporations. Crimes of Privilege: Readings in White-Collar Crime provides students with a critical overview of issues and problems in white-collar crime. It is anessential text for undergraduate and graduate courses that focus on deviance, social problems, and white-collar crime.

The book will synthesize and integrate better what are often disparate ideas, themes, and methods across substantive areas of white-collar crime and criminology and criminal justice. The book also puts together critical and emerging topics within criminology and criminal justice that have important implications for the study of white-collar crime and criminology/criminal justice more generally.  

A team of scholars with backgrounds in criminology, sociology, economics, business, government regulation, and law examine the historical, social, and cultural causes of the 2008 economic crisis. Essays probe the workings of the toxic subprime loan industry, the role of external auditors, the consequences of Wall Street deregulation, the manipulations of alpha hedge fund managers, and the "Ponzi-like" culture of contemporary capitalism. They unravel modern finance's complex schematics and highlight their susceptibility to corruption, fraud, and outright racketeering. They examine the involvement of enablers, including accountants, lawyers, credit rating agencies, and regulatory workers, who failed to protect the public interest and enforce existing checks and balances. While the United States was "ground zero" of the meltdown, the financial crimes of other countries intensified the disaster. Internationally-focused essays consider bad practices in China and the European property markets and draw attention to the far-reaching consequences of transnational money laundering and tax evasion schemes. By approaching the 2008 crisis from the perspective of white collar criminology, contributors build a more general understanding of the collapse and crystallize the multiple human and institutional factors preventing capture of even the worst offenders.

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.

Contemporary transnational criminals take advantage of globalization, trade liberalization, and emerging new technologies to commit a diverse range of crimes, and to move money, goods, services, and people instantaneously for purposes of pure economic gain and/or political violence. This book captures the importance of transnational business crime and international relations by examining the rise of international economic crime and recent strategies in the United States and abroad to combat it. The book is organized into three main sections. The first part discusses substantive crimes, particularly tax, money laundering, and counter-terrorism financial enforcement; transnational corruption; transnational organized crime; and export control and economic sanctions. The second part discusses procedural aspects of international white collar crime, namely extraterritorial jurisdiction, evidence gathering, extradition, and international prisoner transfer. The third part discusses the role of international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank Group, Interpol, and economic integration groups.

Although white-collar crime has caused a substantial amount of damage on both the individual and societal levels, it often ranks below street crime as a matter of public concern. Thus, white-collar crime remains an ambiguous and even controversial topic among academics, with a relative dearth of scholarly focus on the issue. The Oxford Handbook of White-Collar Crime offers a comprehensive treatment of the most up-to-date theories and research regarding white-collar crime. Contributors tackle a vast range of topics, including the impact of white-collar crime, the contexts in which white-collar crime occurs, current crime policies and debates, and examinations of the criminals themselves. The volume concludes with a set of essays that discuss potential responses for controlling white-collar crime, as well as promising new avenues for future research. Uniting conceptual theories, empirical research, and ethnographic data, the Handbook provides the first unified analytic framework on white-collar crime. Given the astronomical aggregate losses to victims, building a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of white-collar crime is a topic of immediate social concern. The definitive resource on white-collar crime, this Handbook will be a valuable resource for developing both intellectual and policy-related solutions.

This reference guide documents white-collar crimes by individuals and businesses over the past 150 years, offering the most comprehensive array of documents and interpretations available. From Gilded Age railroad scandals to the muckraking period and from the Savings and Loan debacle to corporate fallout during the recent economic meltdown, some individuals and companies have chosen to take the low road to achieve "the American dream." While these offenders throughout modern history may have lacked ethics, morals, or good judgment, they certainly were not wanting in terms of creativity. White-Collar and Corporate Crime: A Documentary and Reference Guide traces the fascinating history of white-collar and corporate criminal behavior from the 1800s through the 2010 passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform measure. Author Gilbert Geis scrutinizes more than a century of episodes involving corporate corruption and other self-serving behaviors that violate antitrust laws, bribery statutes, and fraud laws. The various attempts made by authorities to rein in greed and the methods employed by wrongdoers to evade these controls are also discussed and evaluated. Provides dozens of court documents, legislative hearing transcripts, muckraking articles, and accounts of crooked behavior in the upper echelons of power Contains numerous photographs that illustrate the subject material Includes a bibliography in each section that directs readers to supplementary sources