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TYPES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

White-collar crime is a term that is usually applied to crimes associated with business that do not involve violence or bodily injury to another person. Examples of so-called white-collar crimes are those crimes generally associated with lending institutions which involve bank fraud, such as making false statements to obtain a loan, filing false reports or returns with government agencies, embezzlement, using the mail or wire communications to defraud, and paying or accepting bribes.

White-collar crimes may be prosecuted in state or federal courts, depending upon whether state or federal laws have been violated. The penalties for committing white-collar crimes vary, but in some cases they may be as severe as those prescribed for violent crimes. If you are questioned by a law enforcement officer or another governmental agent about possible criminal conduct, it is wise to talk with an attorney before answering any questions. What you tell your attorney is confidential, and the fact that you decline to answer questions may not be used against you in a criminal proceeding.

These are types of white-collar crimes: Fraud, forgery, extortion and tax evasion.

Fraud: The act of obtaining money or property by deceit, trick or a dishonest act. Most acts of fraud are felonies. Criminal fraud is commonly perpetrated against the aged and infirm. Fraud commonly involves a misrepresentation of a material fact upon which the victim relies. In most cases, the defense to fraud involves establishing evidence that negates the defendant's specific intent to defraud. Often fraud involves more then one person involved in the scheme each of which can be held criminally responsible under the theory of joint criminal liability and the crime of conspiracy. Fraud can also be involved in the purchase and sale of securities. The enforcement divisions of the state and the federal government through the SEC have jurisdiction to prosecute defendants that engage in security law violations including fraud.

Forgery: The making of false documents by alteration or by false signature. There must be the specific intent to deceive for economic or personal gain. In most cases, the defense to forgery involves presenting evidence, which negates the defendant's intent. In the world of electronic signatures and e-commerce, the courts have been struggling with expanding the crime of forgery to electronic mediums. The term counterfeiting is also used to describe the crime of forging or creating the paper image of money.

Extortion: The act of obtaining money or gaining some form of personal advantage by threat of force and or intimidation of the victim or the victim's family. In most cases, the defendant has a preexisting relationship with the victim and is motivated by retribution or greed. In almost all states extortion is a felony.

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BONNIE AND CLYDE

Clyde Champion Barrow and his companion, Bonnie Parker, were shot to death by officers in an ambush near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana on May 23, 1934, after one of the most colorful and spectacular manhunts the nation had seen up to that time. Barrow was suspected of numerous killings and was wanted for murder, robbery, and state charges of kidnapping.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), then called the Bureau of Investigation, became interested in Barrow and his paramour late in December 1932 through a singular bit of evidence. A Ford automobile, which had been stolen in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, was found abandoned near Jackson, Michigan in September of that year. At Pawhuska, it was learned another Ford car had been abandoned there which had been stolen in Illinois. A search of this car revealed it had been occupied by a man and a woman, indicated by abandoned articles therein. In this car was found a prescription bottle, which led special agents to a drug store in Nacogdoches, Texas, where investigation disclosed the woman for whom the prescription had been filled was Clyde Barrow's aunt.

Further investigation revealed that the woman who obtained the prescription had been visited recently by Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker, and Clyde's brother, L. C. Barrow. It also was learned that these three were driving a Ford car, identified as the one stolen in Illinois. It was further shown that L. C. Barrow had secured the empty prescription bottle from a son of the woman who had originally obtained it.

On May 20, 1933, the United States Commissioner at Dallas, Texas, issued a warrant against Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, charging them with the interstate transportation, from Dallas to Oklahoma, of the automobile stolen in Illinois. The FBI then started its hunt for this elusive pair.

Bonnie and Clyde met in Texas in January, 1930. At the time, Bonnie was 19 and married to an imprisoned murderer; Clyde was 21 and unmarried. Soon after, he was arrested for a burglary and sent to jail. He escaped, using a gun Bonnie had smuggled to him, was recaptured and was sent back to prison. Clyde was paroled in February 1932, rejoined Bonnie, and resumed a life of crime.

In addition to the automobile theft charge, Bonnie and Clyde were suspects in other crimes. At the time they were killed in 1934, they were believed to have committed 13 murders and several robberies and burglaries. Barrow, for example, was suspected of murdering two police officers at Joplin, Missouri and kidnapping a man and a woman in rural Louisiana. He released them near Waldo, Texas. Numerous sightings followed, linking this pair with bank robberies and automobile thefts. Clyde allegedly murdered a man at Hillsboro, Texas; committed robberies at Lufkin and Dallas, Texas; murdered one sheriff and wounded another at Stringtown, Oklahoma; kidnaped a deputy at Carlsbad, New Mexico; stole an automobile at Victoria, Texas; attempted to murder a deputy at Wharton, Texas; committed murder and robbery at Abilene and Sherman, Texas; committed murder at Dallas, Texas; abducted a sheriff and the chief of police at Wellington, Texas; and committed murder at Joplin and Columbia, Missouri.

The FBI and local law enforcement authorities in Louisiana and Texas concentrated on apprehending Bonnie and Clyde, whom they strongly believed to be in the area. It was learned that Bonnie and Clyde, with some of the Methvins, had staged a party at Black Lake, Louisiana on the night of May 21, 1934 and were due to return to the area two days later.

Before dawn on May 23, 1934, a posse composed of police officers from Louisiana and Texas, including Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, concealed themselves in bushes along the highway near Sailes, Louisiana. In the early daylight, Bonnie and Clyde appeared in an automobile and when they attempted to drive away, the officers opened fire. Bonnie and Clyde were killed instantly.