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The Supplementary texts

Text 1. What does "white collar crime" mean?

1. – Hello. My name is Katy Beard. And as usual on Fridays you are listening to my program "Let's talk about crimes". Today's topic "What is white collar crime?" As I have found, white collar crimes typically refer to a type of crime committed by business people, entrepreneurs, public officials, and professionals through deception, as opposed to street crimes which tend to involve force and violence. But let's ask an expert to tell us more about it. We invited Jorge Geller, an expert of anti-crime agency to ask him some questions. So, Jorge, can you give us some examples of white collar crime?

2. – Examples of white-collar crimes include embezzlement, bribery, extortion, larceny, fraud, bankruptcy, telemarketing, insurance, and mail, securities and commodities law violations, environmental law violations, price fixing, racketeering, in sharking, black market operations, obstruction of justice and perjury, and computer fraud.

Depending on whether federal or state law has been violated, white collar crimes can be prosecuted at the federal or state level. Penalties vary, but some cases can result in large fines, restitution, and jail time.

1. – You have mentioned larceny as a type of white-collar crime. What is it?

2. – Larceny is the "taking and carrying away of tangible personal property of another by trespass with intent to permanently (or for an unreasonable time) deprive the person of his interest in the property". Larceny must involve personal property, and it must be capable of being possessed, and carried away. Thus, real estate, services and other intangibles cannot be objects of larceny.

The commission of larceny requires that someone else's property actually be taken away, and the intent to take it, without paying for or returning it, must also be present.

Both elements are needed by definition for larceny to occur.

1. – Is it the same as embezzlement? Or are there any differences?

2. – The major difference between larceny and embezzlement is the way in which the property changes hands. With larceny, the property is carried away; it was never in the possession of the perpetrator. With embezzlement, however, the perpetrator has lawfully possessed the property, but then has converted it into his/her own property.

The following example illustrates the difference. A man walks onto a construction site and takes a hammer and goes home. He has committed larceny, because he has taken someone else's property away, with the intent never to return it. A construction worker on that same site, who uses the hammer every day, puts it in his pocket at the end of the day and takes it home. He has committed embezzlement, because it was in his possession to use while he worked on the site, but when he took it off the site, he converted it into his own property.

1. – Are there different degrees of larceny, embezzlement and false pretenses?

2. – Yes. Depending on the value of the property appropriated, these crimes can be considered "petit" (which is a misdemeanor) or "grand" (which is a felony).

1. – Thank you Jorge. We were talking to Jorge Geller, an expert of anti crime agency. My name is Katy Beard. Good-Bye.