Discuss three main techniques used by white-collar criminals to carry out their crimes.

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Answer 1

Answers will vary. Criminologists Michael L. Benson of the University of Cincinnati and Sally S. Simpson of the University of Maryland identify three main techniques used by white-collar criminals to carry out their crimes:1. Deception: White-collar crime almost always involves a party who deceives and a party who is deceived. The nation's federal Medicare system, which provides health insurance for those sixty-five years of age and older, is a frequent target of deceptive practices. For example, over a period of fourteen years, the federal government allegedly paid $1 billion for unnecessary or even harmful treatments to Medicare patients at various healthcare facilities in South Florida. The operator of those facilities, Philip Esformes, was charged with a host of crimes, including bribing state regulators to help cover up his schemes.2. Abuse of trust: A white-collar criminal often operates in a position of trust and misuses that trust for personal benefit. In 2017, for example, a Rhode Island financial adviser was sentenced to eighty-four months in prison for using $21 million of his investors' funds to cover up his own business losses and stealing an additional $2.5 million to purchase a waterfront home.3. Concealment and conspiracy: To continue their illegal activities, white-collar criminals need to conceal those activities. In odometer fraud, for example, an automobile dealership "rolls back" the odometers of used cars so that a higher price can be charged for the vehicles. As soon as the fraud is discovered, the scheme can no longer succeed.