NCJ Number
160673
Date Published
1995
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the Federal Government's responses to savings and loan fraud in the 1980's focuses on the causes and ramifications of the varied illegalities, the relatively punitive response compared to that for other corporate crimes, and the systemic inadequacies that ultimately hindered the government's efforts.
Abstract
The explanation for the massive investigative and prosecutorial efforts related to the savings and loan situation lies in the distinctions among different types of white collar crime, according to the relationship between those offenses and the broader economic system. The reaction to financial fraud is likely to be more rigorous than for other types of corporate crime, motivated by the end to preserve the economic system itself. The perceived inadequacy of the response resulted largely from the complexity and almost unlimited volume of potential cases and the resulting necessity for a kind of investigatory and prosecutorial triage. The savings and loan example illustrates the practical limitations of wholesale adoption of criminalization regardless of its symbolic and egalitarian benefits, if anything close to full enforcement is envisaged. Notes