Objectives
- Assess the concept and complexities of multi-jurisdictional investigations
- Evaluate the relationship between institutions seeking civil solutions and institutions seeking criminal prosecution
- Describe techniques used in the investigation of white collar criminal activity
Introduction
Investigation of white collar crime calls for imagination, patience, and clear understanding and appreciation of the range of possible approaches which can be employed in the investigative process. All of the skills required in more conventional investigations will be called for, plus other skills, but even conventional techniques will have to be employed with different emphases.
It will not always be easy to focus directly on a specific criminal act and to go after evidence bearing upon it. The investigator is far more likely to observe a pattern of general criminal activity which will be subject to attack in a number of its aspects. For example, a merchandising scheme could give rise to federal mail or wire fraud charges, to the use of state statutes dealing with larceny or false pretenses, local laws involving licenses to solicit, or federal or state income tax or revenue collection laws. In addition, even where a criminal investigatory focus is possible in the early stages of an investigation, the investigator must realize that for a variety of reasons the prosecutor may decline to criminally prosecute. This is not to suggest that an investigator’s time was misspent, for his investigation may bear fruit through (1) governmental civil or administrative litigation to stop the wrongful, fraudulent activity, (2)initiating civil action to achieve restitution for white-collar crime victims, (3) laying the groundwork for private action by victims, and (4) educating the public to the frauds being investigated, for example, contributing to crime prevention and deterrence.
The approach of the investigator, whether he or she is in a police department, a prosecutor’s office, a state attorney general’s office, a local consumer protection office, or a private agency must therefore be geared to gathering of information which will be useful in achieving remedies in addition to that which is the primary goal of the investigating agency. The additional remedy may be more or less severe than the primary remedy. Some examples:
- A police investigation of an auto repair fraud may not yield evidence which convinces the prosecutor that he can show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But the prosecutor may have enough evidence to meet a civil burden of proof and thus commence civil action or may refer the case to the state attorney general’s office or a municipal consumer protection office for civil action to protect victims or for appropriate injunctive action.
- A local municipal consumer protection office which is primarily engaged in mediating complaints by consumers against merchants may, in the course of gathering facts to support its mediation/restitution efforts, d