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WHAT WE INVESTIGATE
Reportedly coined in 1939, the term white-collar crime is now synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals. These crimes are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and are not dependent on the application or threat of physical force or violence. The motivation behind these crimes is financial—to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services or to secure a personal or business advantage.
These are not victimless crimes. A single scam can destroy a company, devastate families by wiping out their life savings, or cost investors billions of dollars (or even all three). Today’s fraud schemes are more sophisticated than ever, and the FBI is dedicated to using its skills to track down the culprits and stop scams before they start.
The FBI’s white-collar crime work integrates the analysis of intelligence with its investigations of criminal activities such as public corruption, money laundering, corporate fraud, securities and commodities fraud, mortgage fraud, financial institution fraud, bank fraud and embezzlement, fraud against the government, election law violations, mass marketing fraud, and health care fraud. The FBI generally focuses on complex investigations—often with a nexus to organized crime activities—that are international, national, or regional in scope and where the FBI can bring to bear unique expertise or capabilities that increase the likelihood of successful investigations.
FBI special agents work closely with partner law enforcement and regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, among others, targeting sophisticated, multi-layered fraud cases that harm the economy.
Major Threats & Programs Corporate FraudCorporate fraud continues to be one of the FBI’s highest criminal priorities—in addition to causing significant financial losses to investors, corporate fraud has the potential to cause immeasurable damage to the U.S. economy and investor confidence. As the lead agency investigating corporate fraud, the Bureau focuses its efforts on cases that involve accounting schemes, self-dealing by corporate executives, and obstruction of justice.
The majority of corporate fraud cases pursued by the FBI involve accounting schemes designed to deceive investors, auditors, and analysts about the true financial condition of a corporation or business entity. Through the manipulation of financial data, the share price, or other valuation measurements of a corporation, financial performance may remain artificially inflated based on fictitious performance indicators provided to the investing public.
The FBI’s corporate fraud investigations primarily focus on the following activities:Falsification of financial informationFalse accounting entries and/or misrepresentations of financial condition;Fraudulent trades designed to inflate profits or hide losses; andIllicit transactions designed to evade regulatory oversight.Self-dealing by corporate insidersInsider trading (trading based on material, non-public information);Kickbacks;Misuse of corporate property for personal gain; andIndividual tax violations related to self-dealing.Fraud in connection with an otherwise legitimately operated mutual hedge fundLate trading;Certain market timing schemes; andFalsification of net asset values.Obstruction of justice designed to conceal any of the above-noted types of criminal conduct, particularly when the obstruction impedes the inquiries of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), other regulatory agencies, and/or law enforcement agencies.The FBI has formed partnerships with numerous agencies to capitalize on their experience in specific areas such as securities, taxes, pensions, energy, and commodities. The Bureau has placed greater emphasis on investigating allegations of these frauds by working closely with the SEC, CFTC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
These are not victimless crimes. A single scam can destroy a company, devastate families by wiping out their life savings, or cost investors billions of dollars (or even all three). Today’s fraud schemes are more sophisticated than ever, and the FBI is dedicated to using its skills to track down the culprits and stop scams before they start.
The FBI’s white-collar crime work integrates the analysis of intelligence with its investigations of criminal activities such as public corruption, money laundering, corporate fraud, securities and commodities fraud, mortgage fraud, financial institution fraud, bank fraud and embezzlement, fraud against the government, election law violations, mass marketing fraud, and health care fraud. The FBI generally focuses on complex investigations—often with a nexus to organized crime activities—that are international, national, or regional in scope and where the FBI can bring to bear unique expertise or capabilities that increase the likelihood of successful investigations.
FBI special agents work closely with partner law enforcement and regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, among others, targeting sophisticated, multi-layered fraud cases that harm the economy.
Major Threats & Programs Corporate FraudCorporate fraud continues to be one of the FBI’s highest criminal priorities—in addition to causing significant financial losses to investors, corporate fraud has the potential to cause immeasurable damage to the U.S. economy and investor confidence. As the lead agency investigating corporate fraud, the Bureau focuses its efforts on cases that involve accounting schemes, self-dealing by corporate executives, and obstruction of justice.
The majority of corporate fraud cases pursued by the FBI involve accounting schemes designed to deceive investors, auditors, and analysts about the true financial condition of a corporation or business entity. Through the manipulation of financial data, the share price, or other valuation measurements of a corporation, financial performance may remain artificially inflated based on fictitious performance indicators provided to the investing public.
The FBI’s corporate fraud investigations primarily focus on the following activities:Falsification of financial informationFalse accounting entries and/or misrepresentations of financial condition;Fraudulent trades designed to inflate profits or hide losses; andIllicit transactions designed to evade regulatory oversight.Self-dealing by corporate insidersInsider trading (trading based on material, non-public information);Kickbacks;Misuse of corporate property for personal gain; andIndividual tax violations related to self-dealing.Fraud in connection with an otherwise legitimately operated mutual hedge fundLate trading;Certain market timing schemes; andFalsification of net asset values.Obstruction of justice designed to conceal any of the above-noted types of criminal conduct, particularly when the obstruction impedes the inquiries of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), other regulatory agencies, and/or law enforcement agencies.The FBI has formed partnerships with numerous agencies to capitalize on their experience in specific areas such as securities, taxes, pensions, energy, and commodities. The Bureau has placed greater emphasis on investigating allegations of these frauds by working closely with the SEC, CFTC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Emergencies
If someone is in imminent danger, call 911 or your local police immediately.
Report Threats and Crime
General Public
Members of the public can report violations of U.S. federal law or suspected terrorism or criminal activity as follows:
Contact us online
Use our Online Tips and Public Leads form to report information on criminal activity and suspected terrorist threatsReport cyber crimes by filing a complaint with our Internet Crime Complaint Center
Contact us via telephone or mail
Contact your local FBI office or closest international office 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Call 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324) for the Major Case Contact CenterCall (866) 720-5721 to report fraud, waste, and abuse involving disaster relief to the National Center for Disaster Fraud or write to NCDF, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.
Law Enforcement (Secure Portal Access)
Vetted members of law enforcement can report cyber or terrorist incidents through eGuardian.
The Business of White Collar Crime
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet bahara recently said "What might be most astonishing (and disappointing) is that some of the most outrageous securities frauds have occurred at institutions with seemingly robust compliance programs — at least on paper. They have occurred not at fly-by-night outfits but at prominent and powerful companies. And they have been enabled and perpetrated by the highest-flying money managers on Wall Street.We have witnessed the most educated, successful, and monied professionals in the country put their companies — not to mention their own liberty — at risk by engaging in flagrant and foolhardy illegal conduct". He concluded "Financial fraud has been around forever. My office, which sits only steps from Wall Street, has been prosecuting white collar crime since its foundation more than 220 years ago, and we are busier than ever".It is estimated that a great deal of white-collar crime is undetected or, if detected, it is not reported. Many believe for years, white collar criminals routinely received a "slap on the wrist" — sentences of probation, or at worst a prison term measured in months, not year and they eroded people's faith in the financial system. In the wake of corporate scandals at Enron, World Com, Tyco and Global Crossing, there's little doubt that serious corporate crime warranted serious sentences that could deter future fraud of that magnitude.Some believe the government has been getting tough on White Collar crime, others not so much
Jan 11, 2013
Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White - Collar Criminal
Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White - Collar Criminal
A talk by Eugene Soltes, Harvard Business SchoolModerated by Nick Epley, The University of Chicago Booth School of BusinessOctober 24, 2016Over the past seven years, Eugene Soltes (Harvard Business School) has extensively interviewed nearly 50 of the most prominent executives convicted of white-collar crimes to understand why senior executives engage in misconduct. On Oct. 24, he discussed the background of the project and some of his preliminary findings with Nick Epley
Oct 31, 2016
Kids Behind Bars (Prison Documentary) | Real Stories
Kids Behind Bars (Prison Documentary) | Real StoriesChildren are tortured in police custody. They are held in prisons in inhuman and degrading conditions. They are denied the due process which should guarantee them fair trials. They are sentenced without ever seeing a courtroom. They are held for years without charge. They are housed with adult prisoners who sexually abuse them. They are beaten by sadistic guards. They are sentenced to death. They are forgotten by the world that walks past the bars of their existenceWith unprecedented and unique access to juvenile prisons around the world, this film looks at the experience of incarceration for juvenile offenders in countries as diverse as the USA and India, the UK and BrazilFeb 4, 2017
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