White-Collar Crime and Major Financial Debacles in the United States (From Resource Material Series, No. 67, 189-201, 2005 -- See NCJ-214096)

• NCJ Number: 214107
• Author(s): Henry N. Pontell Ph.D.
• Date Published: December 2005
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Japan

Annotation

This paper examines the significance of fraud (economic crimes) by presenting two major financial debacles that represent unprecedented financial failures in the United States.

Abstract

Ignoring the potential for control fraud as an outcome of free market forces, even the best intended regulatory policies can lead to catastrophic financial events. Additionally, the failure to acknowledge control fraud as a social phenomenon can only encourage those seeking to take advantage in two ways: with no effective mechanisms to prevent control fraud, actors are allowed to engage in various crimes and failing to recognize the possibilities of control fraud encourages lawbreaking. This paper addresses the question of the significance of fraud by presenting both fraud minimalist and criminological explanation of two major debacles, representing financial failures in the United States. These two financial debacles causing enormous financial losses include the savings and loan crisis or S&L crisis which ended up costing the American people over $150 billion and the corporate and accounting scandals (i.e., Enron and Arthur Anderson) are discussed.