A comparison of economic crimes in Poland and the United States used cases from the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and from the Polish District Court and Regional Court in Torun. The U.S. research used 170 presentence investigations, and the Polish research involved 204 case files. Data were obtained on variables in the following categories: crime scenarios, time span, and damage; offender profiles; defendant accounts of the events; sentencing policy; and legal variables. The study found that within the spectrum of white-collar crime, there are offenses common for capitalism and socialism. In the research sites, these offense categories were tax offenses, forgery, and bribery. White-collar crime is thus independent of the political structure of the country where it occurs. 10 references