Does White-Collar Crime Increase During a Recession?

Although the debate over increased or decreased crime during hard economic times is far from settled, that doesn’t keep people and companies from jumping into the fray. A post at the A.E. Feldman blog argues that white-collar crime consistently increases during times of economic recession.

Blake Coppotelli, Senior Managing Director in a Business Intelligence and Investigation firm is quoted as saying: “In difficult economic conditions, businesses are struggling to compete for fewer business opportunities. This creates more incentives to deviate from proper business practices and engage in fraudulent activities to protect and maintain revenue . . . . We saw a marked increase in the number of corporate fraud cases during the market downturns of 1987, 1991 and 2001.”

On the other hand, one might wonder if more white-collar criminals are caught during times of economic downturn simply because companies are more vigilant during those times and more concerned about losing their assets?

What do you think? Leave a comment.

Source: http://blog.aefeldman.com/2009/06/09/companies-brace-for-onslaught-of-white-collar-crime/

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