White collar crimes are not formally defined, but they generally refer to crimes involving fraud, money, technology and/or a large number of documents. If a person steals enough money and happens to work on Wall Street, he/she has a good chance of walking away with a fine and a stern warning. But for the less wealthy and less connected, these crimes can result in serious prison time depending on the circumstances of the case, the number of victims and the amount of money involved.
Many federal white collar crime prosecutions are initiated by FBI investigations. The FBI keeps statistics regarding how many cases they are investigating and what types of cases. According to recent reports, the FBI is recommending fewer white collar crime prosecutions to the various United States Attorneys’ offices. The FBI is on pace to have 7% fewer white collar crime cases in 2013 than in the prior year. The number of white collar crime cases proceeding to prosecution in 2013 would be almost 50% fewer than ten years ago. However, with the advances in technology, it is hard to imagine that fewer white collar crimes are being committed.
In relation to Jacksonville, Florida, two of the districts with the highest percentages of white collar crime prosecutions from the FBI are nearby. The Southern District of Georgia ranks second in number of white collar crime prosecutions per capita from the FBI, and the Southern District of Florida ranks fourth.