• 18
  • January
    2012

It seems like you cannot pick up a newspaper without reading about an accounting scandal or insider trading rumor these days. Some of the charges are legitimate, but many others are routinely thrown out for lack of proof or other legal defenses.

With so much coverage of white-collar crime in the news, it can be easy to miss some of the headlines. Forbes magazine recently published an article highlighting some of the more notable white-collar crimes of 2011.

One of the more memorable criminal prosecutions of 2011 involved former presidential candidate John Edwards. Edwards was accused of diverting $1 million in campaign funds during his bid for president to hide an affair. The trial against Edwards for the misappropriation of the funds was supposed to start this month (January 2012), but may be rescheduled due to his current health issues.

In examining a number of white-collar cases this past year, Forbes noted that several judges rejected a few outrageously "severe" sentencing requests made by the Department of Justice in 2011. In one such case, the DOJ sought 22 years for a man who traded Disney on Ice tickets for political favors. The judge found the proposed sentence to be excessive in light of the alleged criminal activity and reduce the sentence to just 20 months. He also allowed the man to remain free while his lawyers appealed the case.

For more on notable white collar criminal cases in 2011, please check back for the continuation of this post later this week.

Source: Forbes.com, "The 2011 White Collar Crime Awards," 12/30/2011.