Question

Discuss the three costs associated with white-collar crime. Provide examples of the effects of each.

Answer 1

White collar crimes apply to criminal acts committed for corporate and personal benefit by persons who manipulate technical, cultural , and social influence or loopholes through their employment. White collar offences may include cyber crimes, misconducts linked to intellectual property and heath care fraud. Such crimes include bribery, embezzlement, theft, money laundering, judicial obstruction, tax fraud, perjury, regulatory and antitrust violations

In addition to the easily measurable economic costs incurred by white collar crime by defrauding consumers, investors and government agencies, the long-term effects on society resulting from corruption and fraud exist less easily measured but even more damaging. The main among these pernicious consequences is the loss of citizens' trust in institutions essential to the proper functioning of our democracy and economy. Such institutions operate properly only when the majority of people have faith in them.

There are other kinds of offenses targeting white collar healthcare. They can involve physicians, patients and frauds who present themselves as physicians. In one form of fraud, a criminal group may steal the identification number of a medical provider and create its own fake practice. They then bill Medicaid and collect compensation for fake services. In this form of crime, there are many victims: the doctor is impersonated, because he also needs to pay taxes on all the profits he has not yet earned as well as the whole Medicaid system, as money is not paid for any reason, no one is handled

The cost to society of corporate crime is often that of organized crime, or the more common street crime. Moreover, monetary damage alone can not be measured, because corporate crimes can also pose health risks, compromise safety, cause injuries or deaths, harm wildlife and the environment, and lead to organizational failures and associated job losses. Because of the hidden existence of many frauds and the fact that few are documented even when they are detected, their cost can not be reliably calculated, but in the United States it is believed to be at least 10 times the total cost of stealing, burglary and robbery