WHERE DO WHITE-COLLAR CASES COME FROM?
A. The Traditional Model White-collar crime is typically described as financial, economic or corporate crime, often carried out by sophisticated means. In the old days, most large scale white-collar crime cases were referred to federal law enforcement authorities (primarily the FBI) by regulatory agencies. If the alleged white-collar fraud was committed by a few rogue employees, company management usually notified the appropriate regulatory body. If management itself participated in the alleged crime, an appropriate regulatory body (such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in cases involving federally insured banks) would notify law enforcement authorities. This notification would sometimes happen after the affected company had failed. Individuals or small companies accused of white-collar crimes were also reported to the FBI by their alleged victims. Most fraud cases were initially worked on by the FBI (or the Secret Service or Postal Inspectors) and an offense report was
