Chapter 14

Larceny/Theft, Fraud and White-Collar Crime

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Introduction• Larceny/theft is one of the eight index crimes reported

in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

• Reported larceny/thefts exceed the combined total of all other index crimes

• Minimum financial threshold of $250,000 for federal investigators to take the case

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PROPERTY CRIME• Larceny is committed through cunning, skill and

criminal design • No force or threat of force is involved• Characterized by deceit, concealment or violation of

trust• Goal is monetary gain

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Larceny/Theft: An Overview

ELEMENTS• Felonious stealing, taking, carrying, leading or driving

away of another’s personal goods or property• Valued above (grand) or below (petty) a specified

amount• With the intent to permanently deprive the owner of

the property or goods

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Elements of the Crime: Larceny/Theft

TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES• Grand larceny

Felony In many states, $100 or more

• Petty larceny Misdemeanor In many states, less than $100

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Classification of Larceny/Theft

ISSUES• Keeping or selling property lost by the owner is a form

of theft• It is not legal possession• Reasonable effort must be made to find the owner• Owner, if located, must pay the cost of such inquiries

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Found Property

OBSTACLES• Similar to investigating a burglary • Even less physical evidence is available • No illegal or forcible entry occurred• Do not give impression that the report is unimportant

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The Preliminary Investigation

PICKPOCKETS AND PURSE SNATCHERS• Victim must identify the thief• Looping

BICYCLE THEFT• Bicycle theft rings• Sold for parts or repainted

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Types of Larceny/Theft

THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLES• Most common complaint received• Small property value

MAIL THEFT• Flaggers• Felony-level federal offense

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Types of Larceny/Theft

RETAIL SHRINKAGE• Employee theft• Shoplifting• Organized retail crime

JEWELRY THEFT• Because jewel thieves

operate interstate, the FBI becomes involved

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Types of Larceny/Theft

ART THEFT• Losses run as high as $6 billion annually• International problem

COINS, METALS AND PAPER MONEY• Obtain exact description of the coins• Gold, copper, silver and aluminum are valuable

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Types of Larceny/Theft

AGRICULTURAL THEFT• Timber• Cactus• Livestock• Farm equipment and chemicals

FISH AND WILDLIFE THEFT• Poaching

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Types of Larceny/Theft

OBTAINING PROOF• Prove that the property is missing• Bills of sale or receipts • Evidence that the owner had custody• Owner can testify to the actual value • Take statements from the owner

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Proving the Elements of the Crime

OVERVIEW• General term used for deceit, trickery and cheating • Activity of persons pretending to be what they are not• Often involves use of interstate communications

devices • Most types of fraud fall under FBI jurisdiction

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Fraud

CONFIDENCE GAMES• Money or property is obtained by a trick• Short and long con game

REAL ESTATE AND MORTGAGE FRAUD• Equity skimming• Property flipping• Inflated appraisals

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Fraud

INSURANCE FRAUD• Premium diversion by agents• Workers’ compensation fraud

HEALTH CARE FRAUD• Throughout entire country• Medicare and Medicaid the most visible programs

affected

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Fraud

MASS MARKETING FRAUD• False or deceptive representations to induce victims • Advance fee-type payments to fraud perpetrators

MAIL FRAUD• Perpetuating scams through the mail• Contact the postal inspector

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Fraud

COUNTERFEITING• Identification documents• Commercial counterfeiting

CHECK FRAUD• Stolen checks• Fraudulent checks• Forgery

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Fraud

DEBIT AND CREDIT CARD FRAUD• Elements

Possess a debit/credit card obtained by theft or fraud By which services or goods are obtained Unauthorized signing of the cardholder’s name

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Fraud

IDENTITY THEFT• Unauthorized use or

attempted use Credit card Existing accounts Personal information Any combination

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Fraud

OVERVIEW• Illegal acts characterized by fraud• Also called economic or corporate crime• Perpetrators do not look like criminals• Often highly educated, socially accepted people • Few law enforcement agencies are equipped to

investigate white-collar crime

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White-Collar Crime

CORPORATE FRAUD• Highest priority of FBI’s financial crimes section• Falsification of financial information • Many cases involve securities and commodities• Enron scandal

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White-Collar Crime

MONEY LAUNDERING• Two-pronged FBI approach

Prong 1 Investigating underlying criminal activity

Prong 2 Conducting parallel financial investigation Uncovering the financial infrastructure Discerning how it flows

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White-Collar Crime

EMBEZZLEMENT• By a person to whom it has

been entrusted• Fraudulent appropriation

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME• Numerous laws• Often considered a civil matter• Civil regulatory agencies

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White-Collar Crime

FACTORS• Monetary value of the loss• Amounts of these thresholds vary with the crime• FBI’s national security and criminal priorities• INTERPOL

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A Final Note about Jurisdiction

Summary• Larceny/theft is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading or

driving away of property from another’s possession• Larceny is synonymous with theft• Fraud is intentional deception to cause a person to give

up property or some lawful right• Main problem in investigating environmental crimes is

that they are often considered a civil matter

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