Corporate Crime in America essays

Corporate Crime in America essays With the latest string of corporate crime "busts," we are realizing more and more that wearing a suit and tie to work does not exempt one from criminal action. Corporate crime, though not violent in nature, is incredibly harmful with regards to society. Chief executive officers in companies such as Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco cheated their employees and investors out of millions of dollars (Puscas 2003). Much of that money was earmarked for pension benefits, retirement plans, and medical insurance for the company's workforce. Corporate crime can also be detrimental to the economy in that it reduces confidence in the stock market and other related There are two reasons why corporate crime is so prevalent (at least recently). Firstly, because those committing corporate crimes think they can get away with it, and secondly, because they believe that punishments for the crimes will be minimal. In order to fight corporate crime, we need to address these two prevailing notions. The first issue to address is criminal prosecution. It is often the case that prosecuters assigned to a case involving white collar crime will be reluctant to push the case as far as one involving drugs or violence. The reality is that corporate crime, at least in the past, was a low priority for District Attorneys. It was easier to justify sending someone to jail who had murdered another individual, then someone who falsified White collar crimes are defined as nonviolent crimes committed in commercial situations by individuals, groups, or corporations for financial gain. They include but are not limited to the following types of fraud: antitrust fraud, bankruptcy fraud, bribery, computer fraud, credit card fraud, counterfeiting, embezzlement, environmental fraud, financial fraud, government fraud, identity fraud, insider trading, insurance fraud, kickbacks, mail fraud, and trade secret ...