Everyone very widely knows white-collar crimes. However, there is a lot of misinformation and myths surrounding them. White-collar crimes have a very broad scope. It can be applicable for referring to numerous criminal offenses. This is why people experience confusion and lack of clarity regarding white-collar crimes. If you are considering getting information about white-collar crimes, make sure to consult an experienced criminal attorney from Lento Law Firm. They are legally prepared to answer all the questions that may arise from such topics. They provide the required legal guidance for handling cases that involve white-collar crimes to protect their clients.
What are white-collar crimes?
The term ‘white-collar crime’ has been in use since the 1930s. These crimes usually involve non-violent crimes of a financial or fraudulent nature. It is believed that people who are in a position of power or trust are usually the ones that commit crimes, but this is not always the case.
Essentially, a white-collar crime is a deceit or a violation of trust. People may commit these crimes for personal advantages, such as to secure a business or for financial gain.
What are some of the most common types of white-collar crimes?
The term ‘white collar crime’ consists of a lot of activities and crimes, but some of the most common of these are:
● Corporate fraud
● Credit card fraud
● Money laundering
● Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud
● Securities and commodities fraud
● Mortgage fraud
● Embezzlement
● Extortion
● Bankruptcy fraud
● Ponzi schemes
● Pyramid schemes
What are the most common myths about white-collar crimes?
White-collar crimes are very widely known, which is why it is normal for people to have misconceptions about them. Some of the most common myths about these crimes are as follows:
Wealthy and powerful people are immune to prosecution.
Many people tend to believe that people with a significant amount of wealth have attorneys that can save their cases and protect them from prosecution through their connections and power. However, it is completely false. No power or wealth goes beyond the law. If someone is found guilty, they will face prosecution for their crimes. Wealthy and powerful people are charged with white-collar crimes regularly. Their connections and reputation do not bring them any immunity. On the contrary, they face humiliation and negative exposure after their criminal offenses are made public.
The criminals charged with white-collar crimes do not face imprisonment.
A lot of people tend to believe that criminals charged with a white-collar crime do not face imprisonment. It is completely untrue. People who face serious convictions for criminal offenses end up going to prison for a long time. This is mostly seen in cases involving money laundering, extortion, embezzlement, etc. The consequential penalty in white-collar crimes depends upon the type of crime committed and the level of wealth and monetary resources involved.
White-collar criminals can not be common citizens.
Anyone can be a white-collar criminal. However, many people tend to believe that only rich and powerful people can commit these crimes. This is a completely false and baseless myth. Many people who are regular workers are found guilty of white-collar crimes and set the criteria for conventionally normal citizens.
White-collar criminals tend to get different treatment.
Many people tend to believe that white-collar criminals get special treatment and that their penalties are decided with leniency. This is completely false. People with white-collar crimes face severe charges and penalties if the case involves a large amount of money and property. The legal consequences they receive for their white-collar crime are decided based on how much money and resources were involved in the crime.
White-collar crimes rarely happen.
A lot of people may be under the assumption that white-collar crimes do not happen regularly. Unfortunately, this is a completely untrue statement. You may only hear about the big cases once in a while in the news, but smaller cases happen very often. A lot of the cases are also never made public.
You can easily get away with white-collar crimes.
There is a belief among a lot of people that white-collar crimes are easier to get away with than other crimes. This may have been true before, but it is certainly not the case anymore. Technological advances are helping to make the identification of white-collar criminals easier, and the authorities are becoming warier and warier to ensure the prosecution of white-collar criminals.
White-collar criminals have it easy in prison.
Another very common misconception about white-collar criminals is that they serve “easy time” and are sent to low-security prisons. This is not necessarily true, and a criminal can definitely be sent to high-security prisons with other criminals with big offenses.
A white-collar crime is similar to the act of robbery.
A lot of people tend to compare white-collar crimes to the act of robbery. Even though both crimes involve taking something illegally from someone, crimes should not be equated with robbery.
Prosecutors do not like working for powerful defendants.
Many people have the assumption that a lot of prosecutors are scared to prosecute rich and powerful people. However, being rich and powerful does not bring any protection in the legal world. If someone has committed a white-collar crime, then prosecutors will investigate them just like they would in any other case.
White-collar crimes are only committed intentionally.
Like any other crime, many people may think that white-collar crimes can only be committed intentionally. However, as hard as it may be to believe, crimes can also be committed accidentally. This can happen due to accidentally adding incorrect data to documentation, miscalculating taxes, etc. in most cases, if a person commits a white-collar crime by accident, they will only have to pay a penalty fee and will not be charged. A person is not usually charged for white-collar crimes if they did not intend to commit the crime in the first place.
Schedule a consultation with an experienced professional today
If you have any questions regarding white-collar crimes, you should schedule a consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney today. A legal professional can help you in many ways and can strengthen your chances for success in your case.
