Abstract
The author begins by giving examples that define white-collar crime in financial institutions, the characteristics, and varieties of this type of crime, including fraud computer crime, crimes against consumers, employee and public safety crimes, and summarizes the responses highlighted in this essay format. The author also explores the context in which white collar crime occurs, including criminal organizations and financial institutions. The author also gives an overview of white-collar criminal justice and law enforcement among high net worth individuals, court proceedings, and sentencing trends among bankers and multinational manufacturers. The final section explores the relationship between white collar crime and the law, self-regulation, and learning points from three institutions.
1. The fraudulent behavior exhibited by financial institutions includes hedging on financial transactions and evaluating mortgage applications below recommended standards. The definition of crime based on the information presented in the documentary and TIME article and prosecution based on the identification of fraudulent activities took into account the actions of CEOs and personnel. Ford and Firestone attempted to associate blame on each other than accept responsibility for directly contributing to the deaths of over 170 accident victims and more than 700 injuries, in fear of the long-term consequences. Companies should take responsibility for their manufacturing mistakes, poor financial policies and irreversible damage to citizen’s lives.
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2. The length of time consumed to hold Wall Street firms accountable for white collar crimes was greater in comparison to other cases. Senator Kaufman’s term ended before he could participate in more than two Senate hearings against firms. Delays affected the performance of officials, who were forced to relocate and search for new job locations due to the pressure that came from businesses. Actions such as these discourage other elected officials for undertaking challenging prosecution of high net worth organizations. Investigation of financial crimes is complicated because criminal intent and fraudulent misrepresentation are not easy to prove and behavior persists despite the efforts of members of the justice department. In addition to this, categorizing some cases as civil suits rather than criminal cases creates confusion.
3. A vast majority fail to fully understand the extent of white collar crimes and tolerate white collar crime because, despite evidence of wrongdoing proven during court and Senate hearings, only relatively small penalties are issues instead of jail sentences by the justice department. “Street crime” is subjected to a stricter standard of condemnation and sentences are evaluated by previous crimes of a similar nature. The media highlights street crimes through easily-comprehensible narratives while there is often scantily-available information regarding white collar crimes. The influence white collar criminals can alter the reporting of crimes. The perception held by the public over some institutions being “too big to jail” differs from the view that “street criminals” are more manageable to prosecute and imprison.
4. The pursuit of the American dream leads many to presume all actions performed towards attaining financial success are justifiable in one way or another. It leads to bias which contributes to silent acceptance of white collar crimes and low tolerance for street crimes, regarded as having few social benefits if any. Bias then leads to some whistle-blowers labeled as issuers of disturbing allegations that take time to prove. Firms behavior is, therefore, challenging to discredit since a large number of institutions follow the same procedures to remain competitive against each other. Investigations begin with difficulty and insufficient support by organizations under scrutiny despite believing that they are supporting citizens to accomplish objectives such as being homeowners and stock market players.
5. The economic slump of 2008 had a drastic effect on lending rates and perspectives on long and short-term investment instruments. Individuals intending to borrow for long-term benefit, and the actions of parents and guardians seem restricted. In addition to educating their children to have to sustain their lifestyles, this slump caused a decrease in confidence in the American financial systems and affiliated institutions. Today, some families are still fighting back through costly legal channels and delays.
6. The Michael Milken and the London-based bankers HSBC case is a documented example of white collar crimes going unpunished despite corruption by bankers identified in court. The organization accused of supporting Mexican cartels, terrorists before and during the year 2012. The HSBC case officially addressed investigations on money laundering for the troublesome Sinaloa cartel after one year. HSBC functions in seven countries with tens of millions of customers.
What followed were a series of false promises by regulators to hold the bank into account. Little more than stern warnings via media channels to the bank CEO and the organization continues to operate. Legislation such as FIRREA (Financial Institutions Reforms, Recovery, and Enforcement Act) designed to hold institutions to account cannot apply to larger ones (Garret, 2014).
7. The three crimes are all performed by large multinational companies that were previously highly regarded by financial institutions and peer firms. Wall Street bankers, Ford and Firestone were all considered as satisfactory, employment creating systems that do more good than harm.
Based on strictly focusing on the documentary and article, one can safely conclude Wall Street bankers found their judgment on acceptable practices that they follow, regardless of whether or not they are legal. While the same might be said for the manufacturing companies, some physics principles contributed to the extent of accidents involving SUVs, in that raising that type of vehicle further from the ground increased the center of gravity of the car and lowered stability. External factors contributed to the inefficiency of automobiles involved in accidents. Bankers’ actions regarding livelihoods and investments do not face the same extent of seriousness according to some critics.
If readers restrict themselves to the cases in determining the one with the highest negative impact level, Wall Street is likely to be identified as the institution affecting more people. Mortgage holders who eventually lost their assets depleted savings of many investors who had secured investments with decades of contribution and contributed to the economic slump of 2008; its effects are experienced nine years later in some parts of the US.
References
Aronson, R., Rath, A., & Smith, M. (2013). The Untouchables PBS Available at http://video.pbs.org/video/2327953844/ Site Accessed 27th October 2017
Greenwald, J. (2017 May 29) Inside the Ford/Firestone Fight Time Magazine Available at http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,128198,00.html Site Accessed 27th October 2017
Garrett, B. (2014). Too big to jail: How prosecutors compromise with corporations. Harvard University Press.
