JON'S CELL: When you hear the term “corporate crime,” you probably think about the head of an organization committing a crime, but in reality, a corporate crime is committed whenever any employee of a company does something illegal in an attempt to benefit the organization that they work for. Even if the head of the company or its managers have no idea that the crime is being committed, they could still be considered legally responsible for their employee’s actions.
Corporate crimes are generally classified as white collar crimes and are considered serious crimes since the actions of someone committing these types of crimes usually affects not only the other employees of the organization, but its investors and customers as well. Two examples of corporate crime include, false claims and insider trading.
False claims typically occur when statements are made by a company that are not true. As an example, a company could claim that their diet pill can help individuals to lose weight quickly, but the pill actually is not effective or even causes health problems to those who take it instead.
Insider trading is the buying or selling of stocks based on company information that is not known by the public. An employee could perhaps know that a product is about to be recalled, which would cause stock prices to fall. If the employee sells his or her stock before the information is released to the public or even simply tells a friend to sell or short their stock shares, he or her is committing insider trading.
Defendants who are accused of corporate crimes may find it beneficial for their defense to seek the advice of an experienced Wisconsin criminal attorney.
Source: Education Portal, “Corporate Criminal Liability: Definition & Examples” Oct. 13, 2014
