1. Chapter 14
Larceny/Theft, Fraud and White-Collar Crime
Hess 14-1

2. Introduction
• Larceny/theft is one of the eight index crimes reported
in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime
Reports (UCR)
• Reported larceny/thefts exceed the combined total of
all other index crimes
• Minimum financial threshold of $250,000 for federal
investigators to take the case
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3. Larceny/Theft: An Overview
PROPERTY CRIME
• Larceny is committed through cunning, skill and
criminal design
• No force or threat of force is involved
• Characterized by deceit, concealment or violation of
trust
• Goal is monetary gain
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4. Elements of the Crime: Larceny/Theft
ELEMENTS
• Felonious stealing, taking, carrying, leading or driving
away of another’s personal goods or property
• Valued above (grand) or below (petty) a specified
amount
• With the intent to permanently deprive the owner of
the property or goods
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5. Classification of Larceny/Theft
TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES
• Grand larceny

Felony
 In many states, $100 or more
• Petty larceny

Misdemeanor

In many states, less than $100
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6. Found Property
ISSUES
• Keeping or selling property lost by the owner is a form
of theft
• It is not legal possession
• Reasonable effort must be made to find the owner
• Owner, if located, must pay the cost of such inquiries
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7. The Preliminary Investigation
OBSTACLES
• Similar to investigating a burglary
• Even less physical evidence is available
• No illegal or forcible entry occurred
• Do not give impression that the report is unimportant
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8. Types of Larceny/Theft
PICKPOCKETS AND PURSE SNATCHERS
• Victim must identify the thief
• Looping
BICYCLE THEFT
• Bicycle theft rings
• Sold for parts or repainted
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9. Types of Larceny/Theft
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLES
• Most common complaint received
• Small property value
MAIL THEFT
• Flaggers
• Felony-level federal offense
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10. Types of Larceny/Theft
RETAIL SHRINKAGE
• Employee theft
• Shoplifting
• Organized retail crime
JEWELRY THEFT
• Because jewel thieves
operate interstate, the
FBI becomes involved
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11. Types of Larceny/Theft
ART THEFT
• Losses run as high as $6 billion annually
• International problem
COINS, METALS AND PAPER MONEY
• Obtain exact description of the coins
• Gold, copper, silver and aluminum are valuable
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12. Types of Larceny/Theft
AGRICULTURAL THEFT
• Timber
• Cactus
• Livestock
• Farm equipment and chemicals
FISH AND WILDLIFE THEFT
• Poaching
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13. Proving the Elements of the Crime
OBTAINING PROOF
• Prove that the property is missing
• Bills of sale or receipts
• Evidence that the owner had custody
• Owner can testify to the actual value
• Take statements from the owner
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14. Fraud
OVERVIEW
• General term used for deceit, trickery and cheating
• Activity of persons pretending to be what they are not
• Often involves use of interstate communications
devices
• Most types of fraud fall under FBI jurisdiction
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15. Fraud
CONFIDENCE GAMES
• Money or property is obtained by a trick
• Short and long con game
REAL ESTATE AND MORTGAGE FRAUD
• Equity skimming
• Property flipping
• Inflated appraisals
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16. Fraud
INSURANCE FRAUD
• Premium diversion by agents
• Workers’ compensation fraud
HEALTH CARE FRAUD
• Throughout entire country
• Medicare and Medicaid the most visible programs
affected
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17. Fraud
MASS MARKETING FRAUD
• False or deceptive representations to induce victims
• Advance fee-type payments to fraud perpetrators
MAIL FRAUD
• Perpetuating scams through the mail
• Contact the postal inspector
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18. Fraud
COUNTERFEITING
• Identification documents
• Commercial counterfeiting
CHECK FRAUD
• Stolen checks
• Fraudulent checks
• Forgery
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19. Fraud
DEBIT AND CREDIT CARD FRAUD
• Elements

Possess a debit/credit card obtained by theft or fraud
 By which services or goods are obtained
 Unauthorized signing of the cardholder’s name
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20. Fraud
IDENTITY THEFT
• Unauthorized use or
attempted use
 Credit card
 Existing accounts

Personal information

Any combination
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21. White-Collar Crime
OVERVIEW
• Illegal acts characterized by fraud
• Also called economic or corporate crime
• Perpetrators do not look like criminals
• Often highly educated, socially accepted people
• Few law enforcement agencies are equipped to
investigate white-collar crime
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22. White-Collar Crime
CORPORATE FRAUD
• Highest priority of FBI’s financial crimes section
• Falsification of financial information
• Many cases involve securities and commodities
• Enron scandal
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23. White-Collar Crime
MONEY LAUNDERING
• Two-pronged FBI approach

Prong 1
 Investigating underlying criminal activity

Prong 2
 Conducting parallel financial investigation
 Uncovering the financial infrastructure
 Discerning how it flows
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24. White-Collar Crime
EMBEZZLEMENT
• By a person to whom it has
been entrusted
• Fraudulent appropriation
ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME
• Numerous laws
• Often considered a civil matter
• Civil regulatory agencies
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25. A Final Note about Jurisdiction
FACTORS
• Monetary value of the loss
• Amounts of these thresholds vary with the crime
• FBI’s national security and criminal priorities
• INTERPOL
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26. Summary
• Larceny/theft is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading
or driving away of property from another’s possession
• Larceny is synonymous with theft
• Fraud is intentional deception to cause a person to give
up property or some lawful right
• Main problem in investigating environmental crimes is
that they are often considered a civil matter
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