White Collar Crime and Organized Crime Lecture Outline
Issues to Consider for Group Discussion (all from Barkan Ch. 12 unless otherwise noted):
Occupational Crime Vs. Organizational / Corporate Crime—What’s the difference?
Occupational Crime: Savings & Loan Embezzlement– How much & how did they do it?
Healthcare Fraud – How widespread & costly ? Deaths?
Financial Fraud – “insider trading” Madoff example: What did he do and cost? (Marketplace et al.)
Organizational / Corporate Crime
Corporate Financial Crime: Fraud, Cheating & Corruption
What is accounting fraud & how common is it and what are its costs? What did Enron do?
Defense Industry -- How common is fraud and what types of things?
Why is fraud fairly easy in massive derivatives trade business ($450 Trillion)? What was view of fraud among top
economic officials? (Marketplace et al.)
What types of sales & accounting fraud did Goldman Sachs and Lehman Bros. investment banks engages in,
respectively ? Related to economic crisis? (Gordon et al.)
What misconduct US banks done for Drug Cartels? How much $? Why so little oversight? (Smith)
Price Fixing & Gouging & False Advertising
What is Cost overall, & per family per year in US ?
General Electric case (fines vs. profits). Gas prices Vs. profits
 What sort of false advertising and false info. did Pharmaceutical companies spread re: some best selling
products? And what kind of financial fraud commit also? (Johnson et al.)
Corporate Violence
How can white-collar crime be violent?
Pollution & health effects Products & workplace death & injury
Ex. of drug companies & deception & health probs. (Johnson et al. web rdg)
How is Bank Money Laundering related to violence in drug trade? (Smith)
Cost-benefit decision making & white-collar crime: Ford Pinto case
Cost of White-Collar crime for Society Vs. Cost of Street Crime.
How does White-collar crime compare to Street crime in terms of $ and lives lost?
Explanations for White-collar crime
Typical law enforcement for white-collar crime, & reasons for that & role of Media
Does White-Collar Crime pay? (benefits vs. risks/costs) How to reduce White-Collar Crime
How common / frequent is white-collar crime? (summarize various studies in Barkan)
Less wealthy persons’ fraud (ch. 11 , p. 349-355)
Costs of check fraud, credit card fraud, and ID theft Welfare Fraud vs. Tax Fraud (which is bigger?)
Insurance Fraud (how big a problem?) Types of computer crime?
Lecture & Some Group Discussion points:
White-Collar crime (definition)
2 types: 1. Occupational Crime 2. Organizational / Corporate Crime (Barkan ch. 12)
Occupational crime example--Healthcare Fraud, (Barkan Ch. 12)
Financial Crime & Economic crisis–
Fraud and Criminal Justice aspect to roots of key parts of crisis…
Bad investments and Bank practices, housing bubble, new mortgage lending model by banks, lots of fraud in
accounting and in sales. (see also: (Marketplace et al. & Gordon et al. web rdgs)
Showed scenes from 2 videos on this
1 on Lehman Bors. Bank accounting fraud (goes with web rdg. Gordon et al.)
1 on “American casino” and corruption in Wall St. & fraud
Cost (human and economic) of White-collar crime Vs. Cost of Street Crime (Barkan ch. 12)
Leniency of WC crime enforcement (some fines and little jail time, etc.) – Barkan ch. 12 & Market place et al. web rdg.
Why White Collar criminals get away with it (invisible, low penalties, etc.)
How can white-collar crime be violent?
Pollution & health effects (Barkan, & Bradway ch. 4 in Burns)
Organizational Crime -- Cost-Benefit decision making -- Ford Pinto case…(Barkan ch. 12)
Does White-Collar Crime pay? (benefits vs. risks/costs) (Barkan ch. 12)
How to reduce White-Collar Crime (increase press attention & penalties, etc.) (Barkan ch. 12)
Companies are rational…
Other Things to be aware of but not covered in class (or not much):
Corporate Violence
How can white-collar crime be violent?
Pollution & health effects Products & workplace death & injury
Ex. of drug companies & deception & health probs. (Johnson et al. web rdg)
How is Bank Money Laundering related to violence in drug trade? (Smith)
Accounting Fraud as key type of Organizational / Corporate crime in recent years (Barkan ch. 12)
Frequency of White-Collar crime by Corporations (Corporate Crime) & typical prosecutions
Difficulties in Prosecution of white-collar crime (Barkan ch. 12)
False Advertising & Financial fraud committed by drug companies (Johnson et al web rdg.)
Derivative & lack of regulations and increased fraud opportunities (Marketplace et al. web rdg.)
Tax Fraud –Who most likely to commit vs. who is most likely to be audited? (BArkan, ch. 11)