White collar crime is a unique type of crime that is considered different in many ways from the more traditional, generally violent, blue collar crimes. The term was coined by Professor Edwin Hardin Sutherland in 1939 to describe crimes committed by professionals in the workplace. “White collar” refers to the collared white shirts commonly worn by people in administrative, business and managerial positions. These crimes are typically non-violent and often involve an abuse of power to steal money for personal gain.

Types of crimes

These business-related crimes come in many forms. Any individual who makes money through illegal fraud or other illegal means is guilty of committing a white collar crime. Entrepreneurs create schemes to “get the upper hand” from an asset pool or they can steal huge amounts of money from investors or companies to finance a luxurious lifestyle. Some of the common schemes that are classified as white collar crimes include:

• Bribery
• Computer hacking or Internet crime
• Credit card theft or identity theft
• Embezzlement
• Extortion
• Falsification
• Healthcare, investment, mortgage or securities fraud
• Inside information trafficking
• Money laundering

Convictions and penalties

Many critics note that there is a wide disparity between the sentences and penalties for white-collar crime suspects and blue-collar crime suspects. They claim that because the crimes are typically non-violent and involve individuals of a higher class, convicts receive shorter sentences and better prison accommodations than their blue-collar counterparts. While this may be true for smaller cases, major criminals involved in fraud, Ponzi schemes, and other business-related fraud have recently been aggressively prosecuted. Some have received life sentences, along with huge court-ordered fines and restitution payments.

While the charge depends on the size of the illegal operation and the degree of involvement of each individual, committing a white collar crime generally results in a felony charge. This may seem complicated since no one is physically harmed, but these types of crimes can cause considerable financial harm to hundreds or even thousands of people. Very large cases can even affect the regional or national economy to some extent.