Chapter 12

Asset forfeiture

The authorized seizure of money, negotiable instruments, securities, or other things of value

Bank fraud

Any fraud or embezzlement that occurs within or against financial institutions that are insured or regulated by the US government

Corporate crime

A violation of a criminal statute by an organization or its executives, employees, or agents acting on its behalf and for its benefit

Corporate fraud

A type of organizational fraud, such as accounting schemes, self-dealing by corporate executives, obstruction of justice, insider trading, kickbacks, and misuse of corporate property for personal use

Criminal enterprise

A group of individuals with an identified hierarchy engaged in significant criminal activities

Environmental crimes

A violation of the criminal law committed by businesses, business officials, organized entities, and/or individuals that damages some protected or otherwise significant aspect of the natural environment

Ethnic succession

The continuing process whereby one immigrant or ethnic group succeeds another by assuming its position in society

Green criminology

The study of environmental harm, crime, law, regulation, victimization, and justice

Insider trading

A type of equity trading based on confidential information about important events that may affect the price of the issue being traded

La Cosa Nostra

A criminal organization of Sicilian origin
Literally means "our thing

Mafia

A criminal organization of Sicilian origin
Also known as La Cosa Nostra

Money laundering

The process of converting illegally earned assets from cash to one or more alternative forms to conceal factors such as illegal origin and true ownership

Occupational crime

Any act punishable by law that is committed in the course of an individuals legal occupation

Organized crime

The unlawful activities of the members of a highly organized, disciplined association engaged in supplying illegal goods and services

Ponzi scheme

A form of high-yield-investment fraud that uses money collected from new investors, rather than profits from the purported underlying business venture, to pay high rates of return promised to earlier investors

RICO Act

A statute that was part of the federal Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 and that is intended to combat criminal conspiracies

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Officially known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act, requires thief executive officers and chief financial offices to personally vouch for the truth and fairness of their companies financial disclosures and establishes an

Securities and commodities fraud

A crime involving investments, such as stock-market manipulation, high-yield investment fraud

Securities fraud

The theft of money resulting from intentional manipulation of the value of equities, including stocks and bonds

Transnational organized crime

Any unlawful activity undertaken and supported by organized criminal groups operating across transnational boundaries

White-collar crime

Any violation of the criminal law committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his or her occupation