The criminal violation of trust is a heterogeneous offense category because it includes acts that are chargeable under numerous criminal statutes, including embezzlement, criminal conversion, fraud, and larceny. Because trust violators charged with embezzlement include both good faith and bad faith offenders, persons who commit theft both occupationally and otherwise, and persons of varying social prestige, the criminal violation of trust offense category is not in line with the original meaning of white collar crime. Further, because centralized data sources on embezzlers include a hodgepodge of violators, these sources are inappropriate for the study of white collar crime. Even though cases of embezzlement by persons of high status in their occupational field may technically fit the definition of white collar crime, embezzlement cases are atypical of white collar crime due to the absence of criminal organization. The author suggests that, to arrive at the most comprehensive explanation of trust violations, an attempt should be made to reconcile with existing theory offenders who commit their crimes under both good faith and bad faith conditions. 46 footnotes