White-collar crime

The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals.[1] The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class individuals for financial gains.[2] It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation".[3] Typical white-collar crimes could include wage theft, fraud, bribery, Ponzi schemes, insider trading, labor racketeering, embezzlement, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery.[4] White-collar crime overlaps with corporate crime.

  1. ^ "FBI — White-Collar Crime". FBI.
  2. ^ Blundell, Jonathan (2014). Cambridge IGCSE Sociology coursebook. Cambridge University Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-107-64513-4.
  3. ^ Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1950). White Collar Crime. New York: Dryden Press, p. 9.
  4. ^ "White Collar Criminal Defense Guide". Law Offices of Randy Collins. Retrieved 23 December 2016.