Americal's White-Collar Crime: our fastest growing industry

It is not the poor who are bilking the working class, it is the middle class and up to the top that are claiming trillions and more in fraudulent schemes. America's fastest growing industry.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

See also National White Collar Crime Center

White-Collar Crime

Fraud—the art of deliberate deception for unlawful gain—is as old as history; the term "white-collar crime" was reportedly coined in 1939 by Professor Edwin Sutherland and has since become synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals. Today's con artists are more savvy and sophisticated than ever, engineering everything from slick online scams to complex stock and health care frauds. Here you can learn about the many white-collar crimes we investigate, how to protect yourself from common scams, and what to do if you think you've been victimized.

White Collar Crime

- Strategic Goal

Reduce the level of significant white collar crime.

- Situation

Since the 1990s, tremendous growth of and involvement in the securities and commodities markets at the institutional, corporate, and private investor levels have led to great numbers of individuals involved in intentional corporate fraud and misconduct, particularly senior corporate executives. For example, the FBI is currently investigating over 189 major corporate frauds, 18 of which have losses over $1 billion. The erosion of public confidence in the management of public companies will, if left unchecked, have a negative impact on the stock markets and capital raising, which will in turn have a negative impact throughout the U.S. economy.

Health care fraud continues to plague the United States, with losses exceeding $50 billion annually. Frauds involving durable medical equipment, staged auto accidents, and medical transportation services are examples of this pervasive crime problem. In addition to Medicare/ Medicaid and private insurers, state providers lose billions of dollars per year to blatant fraud schemes in every sector of the health care industry. As health care spending increases over the coming years with the aging of the “baby boom” generation and Medicare prescription drug coverage, health care fraud is expected to have a corresponding increase.

Financial institution fraud (FIF) continues to be a significant white collar crime problem throughout the country. Since 9/11, the FBI has refocused its FIF program and is now investigating higher-priority cases to a much greater degree. Large-scale mortgage fraud and identity theft operations, many perpetrated by organized criminal enterprises, also continue to plague the United States.

Aggressive use of anti-money laundering statutes and forfeiture of ill-gotten assets are integral parts of nearly every financial crime prosecution. Many top executives involved in corporate scandals have been charged with money laundering in addition to other criminal violations. Additionally, corrupt money launderers introduce illegal proceeds into the financial community, and this asset flow must be reduced through aggressive prosecution, seizure, and forfeiture.

The ability of the U.S. Government and industry to function effectively is likewise threatened by complex frauds. The amount of taxpayer funds involved in the government procurement process is staggering, as billions of dollars are spent each year on everything from highways to rockets. The GAO estimates that as much as 10 percent of appropriated funds for domestic programs may be lost to fraud in the government procurement and contracting process, and this type of crime is critically linked to public corruption imperatives.

Insurance, telemarketing, and investment frauds often operate across jurisdictional and international boundaries. When losses to individual victims are aggregated, the economic impact can be dramatic. Additionally, anti-trust offenses and bankruptcy fraud have a significant negative affect on the U.S. economy, and environmental crimes represent a serious threat to the public health and natural resources of our nation.

The FBI will continue its successful efforts in the white collar crime arena by using its expertise, broad criminal investigative resources, and strong relationships with regulatory agencies to maintain public confidence in the country’s financial institutions and markets, ensure the integrity of government expenditures of taxpayer funds, and protect individuals and businesses from catastrophic economic loss.

- Strategic Objectives

IIH.1 Reduce levels of corporate fraud by targeting those groups or individuals engaged in major corporate fraud schemes that significantly impact the investing public and financial markets.

Fraud by company executives and those in positions of trust not only damages stockholders, but also erodes public confidence in the corporate community at large. The FBI will continue increasing its efforts in this area by using agents and analysts with high degrees of expertise in financial investigations. The sheer complexity of illegal corporate transactions require extraordinary time and commitment to investigate.

Priority Actions

Expand the intelligence base through private sector and community outreach specifically focused on private industry personnel, government regulators, and all levels of law enforcement.

Initiate major investigations on all aspects of corporate fraud.

Incorporate aggressive asset forfeiture actions in every criminal case to strip violators of their ill-gotten gains.

Develop human sources that can substantially reduce the time and resources dedicated to complex investigations.

IIH.2 Reduce the incidence of large scale health care frauds, involving both government-sponsored and private insurer programs.

Because the illegal profit potential for this crime problem is virtually unlimited, and because the health care industry is among the most complex, the FBI must continue to build on its relationships with related government agencies and stakeholders to effectively prevent abuse.

Priority Actions

Expand the intelligence base to identify regional fraudulent billing patterns within vulnerable segments of the health care industry such as pharmaceuticals, durable medical equipment, transportation services, outpatient services, and home health services.

Deter health care fraud by identifying and targeting national regional chains of service providers engaged in systemic health care schemes. Incorporate aggressive asset forfeiture actions in every criminal case to strip violators of their ill-gotten gains.

IIH.3 Reduce fraud perpetrated by criminal enterprises targeting financial institutions.

The health of our country’s financial institutions remains a national economic priority. The FBI will continue to prevent financial losses to these institutions by focusing on criminal enterprises engaged in financial institution fraud, including insider fraud, major check fraud, mortgage fraud, and identity theft.

Priority Actions

Improve relationships with traditional, as well as non-traditional and expanding industries.

Expand the intelligence base in order to identify major criminal enterprises that victimize financial institutions on a regional and national basis.

Conduct worldwide investigations to dismantle criminal enterprises engaged in significant financial institution fraud.

Implement strategies to increase the number of asset forfeiture actions in criminal cases to strip violators of their ill-gotten gains.

Expand the use of nationally-coordinated initiatives and investigations, using emerging investigative techniques.

IIH.4 Disrupt and dismantle the most significant money laundering institutions and facilities.

The FBI will target the most significant corrupt money laundering industries and facilities in the United States by increasing the cost of criminal activity, creating barriers to entry of illegal proceeds into the financial community, developing national strategies to address the mechanisms and industries commonly used to launder funds, and by reducing the flow of criminal assets through seizure and forfeiture.

Priority Actions

Expand the intelligence base to identify methodologies, geographic anomalies with domestic and international criminal proceeds, and significant money laundering enterprises, industries and facilities.

Conduct worldwide investigations that result in the dismantlement of those enterprises, industries, and facilities engaged in significant money laundering.

Incorporate research and analysis software products into the overall intelligence base.

Increase the number of human sources reporting on significant money laundering activities.

Ensure potential money laundering strategies are incorporated into counterterrorism and criminal enterprise investigations to maximize asset forfeiture potential.

Provide extensive training to the entire Law Enforcement Community to promote the use of asset forfeiture and money laundering statutes in all investigations.

IIH.5 Reduce the impact of telemarketing, insurance, and investment fraud on businesses and individuals, particularly schemes originating from outside the United States.

Telemarketing fraud typically targets the elderly, one of the most vulnerable segments of our society. The FBI will focus on major telemarketing enterprises, recognizing the difficulties faced by state and local investigators because criminal operations typically cross jurisdictional lines — often internationally. Insurance and investment fraud have similar multi-jurisdictional attributes, making enterprises difficult to investigate and prosecute by state and local agencies.

Priority Actions

Expand the intelligence base on telemarketing fraud.

Develop and execute a public awareness campaign about telemarketing and insurance fraud to reduce its impact on communities and business.

Increase the number of human sources that can provide detailed information on criminal enterprises engaged in telemarketing fraud.

Expand the use of nationally-coordinated initiatives and investigations, using sophisticated and innovative investigative techniques.

IIH.6 Address those investigative matters which represent the most significant economic losses within federally-funded procurement, contract, and entitlement programs, environmental crimes, bankruptcy fraud, and anti-trust offenses.

Because government fraud is inextricably linked to the FBI’s obligation to combat public corruption and national security threats, the FBI will focus efforts on major schemes with those links. Because serious public health and safety concerns relate to environmental crime, the FBI will enhance its working relationships with federal, state, and local investigative and regulatory agencies to address this crime problem. We will also focus on bankruptcy and anti-trust offenses having the greatest negative economic impact.

Priority Actions

Increase the intelligence base on government fraud, environmental crimes, and major bankruptcy fraud.

Establish a deterrence by identifying, prioritizing, and targeting most egregious violators and enterprises.

Incorporate aggressive asset forfeiture actions in every criminal case to strip violators of their ill-gotten gains.