White Collar Crime

White Collar Crime (KAMAKSHYA PRASAD on LAW OF SCAM – ISBN 81 87197 78 1 )
In the year of 1939, the terms “WCC” was coined by Edwin H. Sutherland in his presidential address to the American Sociological Society and was later developed in a published work. The concept, however, was not new having appeared under the phrase “Criminal of the Upper World” in a 1935 text book.
By “WCC”,by Sutherland meant –“a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” Embezzlement by a banker, illegal sales of alcohol and narcotics or price fixing by physicians, or frauds of a client’s securities by a lawyer would be examples. Thus Sutherland stated in his thesis of “WCC” –
Person of the upper socio-economic

Bintliff, ISBN 0 13 017260 – X)
White collar crimes are illegal acts characterized by guile, deceit and concealment, and not dependent upon the application of physical force or violence or threats thereof. They may be committed by individuals acting independently or by those who are part of a well-planned conspiracy. The objective may be to obtain money, property, or services or to secure business or personal advantage.

Six essential Elements of White Collar Crime
In addition, white collar crime involves a technique instead of a specific or statutory crime in itself. To qualify as a WCC the following six elements must be present. When they are not present, the activity or offence is not a WCC. They are: -
1. Intent to commit a wrongful act: intent is normally inferred from the behaviour or statements of the offender and from the presence of proof of a clear effort to avoid detection and clear actions to deceive the victim.
In every WCC it is normally clear that the offender knew he or she was involved in an illegal activity or at least a legally gray area, whether or not the offender has knowledge or the specific statue violated
Implied intent emerges from the following elements that describe

Continued Concealment of the act: - This element differs from the disguise element. The reason for disguise is to consummate the crime, it is part of the manner and means by which the fraud is committed. When the white collar crime continues, concealment and disguise will overlap, since postponing pursuit and maintenance of the facade of respectability enable repetitions of fraud. Even when there is no intent of the offender to commit further white collar crimes, concealment will be a continuing element of the original crime. Concealment often results in new crimes to cover old crimes, such as continuous repetitive alteration and falsification of records.

5. No use of physical force or threats: - a key element of WCC is that there is no hint of physical force or threats. Crimes of extortion or blackmail often are labelled as WCC, however, they cannot qualify. Those crimes involve some type of threat to the victim.

6. An objective of Personal or Business Gain: - Any crime calls for a motive, and white collar crime offenders have a motive or objective of personal gain. This gain might not include money or property, however, the crime is done to create an