Data from government documents and congressional hearings as well as news media of particular cases are used to illustrate the prevalence, predisposing factors, and similarities between the crimes. The argument is presented that the deregulation in the 1980s together with protective insurance and guaranty funds had led to the white collar crime, but its prevalence is attributed to several structural factors. Specifically, the function of these industries as trustees of other peoples' money in a speculative investment context provides the opportunities for embezzlement and other abuses of trust. This in turn paralyzes regulators and policymakers the contradictions between and among regulation, competition, financial fitness, and the imperative of preserving trust in a financial system that can be swayed very easily. Future research should focus on the implications of the shift in the 20th century from a production process and market structure of industrial capitalism to an economy centered on management and manipulation of money. 75 references and 5 statutes cited (Author abstract modified)