Not all Florida crimes are the result of good people gone bad. In some cases, white collar crimes are the result of poor decisions rather than sinister intent.  At Colucci Law Group, we represent our clients against a broad range of state and federal charges.

According to Forbes, employees typically commit white collar crimes in the course of their job. Ponzi schemes, insider trading, fraud, forgery, money laundering and bribery are among nonviolent crimes in this category. Research confirms that cues within your work environment can nudge behavior towards questionably ethical actions or misbehavior:

  • Management indifference toward ethics – Prevalent particularly in investment firms, they may legitimize inside information for stock trading by using expert networks. This can lead to a breach of security laws.
  • “Do what it takes” tactics – Aggressive goals and management directives in merit-based cultures often result in questionable behavior. Banks, automotive manufacturers and certain types of startups often employ these types of goals. Employees may take shortcuts that result in illegal actions.
  • Morally questionable incentives – Poorly design job incentives can motivate you to unknowingly commit fraud or other inappropriate behaviors by circumventing existing laws. Your focus may be on meeting the goals, while missing the fact that you are committing a crime.
  • Improper behavior deemed harmless – Stock traders often see insider trading as a victimless crime, as they do not understand the repercussions on the cheated person. Salespeople may feel they are only doing their job when they are actually bribing clients during the process of putting a deal together.

Disregard for the law, improperly placed confidence as a result of success and the belief that everyone cheats a little are among the most common perspectives of individuals charged with white collar crimes. Visit our webpage for more information on this topic.