Generally speaking, white collar crimes tend to revolve around money. They’re far less obvious crimes, at least to the general public, than things like common burglary or assault. They happen behind the scenes, they are often covered up with paperwork and they can involve hundreds of thousands of dollars.
While they may be more “subtle” crimes and people may think they’re just taking advantage of a situation or a loophole, they are still illegal. A few examples of white collar crime include:
- Securities fraud, such as insider trading
- Insurance fraud, such as reporting losses that never occurred
- Mortgage fraud
- Tax evasion, which could be as simple as intentionally misreporting earnings for the year so as not to pay taxes on that money
- Embezzlement, such as taking money from company accounts and doctoring the books
- Money laundering, which is done to attempt to conceal money that was earned illegally
In some cases, multiple white collar crimes could happen at once. For instance, someone who launders money typically has already committed another crime to obtain that money in the first place, thus giving them reason to want to hide it. In some cases, people are caught as they try to conceal money and it exposes the entire scheme, even if that initial crime does not lead to their arrest. These cases can get very complex.
Remember, no matter what you are accused of doing, you deserve a fair trial. You have rights that must be protected. You need to fully understand all of your legal options when you are facing serious criminal charges.