TENNESSEE STATE SENATOR CHARGED WITH THEFT OF GOVERNMENT FUNDS

According to various news reports, earlier this week, Tennessee State Senator Katrina Robinson was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly embezzling $600,000 in federal funds from a healthcare institute she operated.  According to a criminal complaint filed by a Memphis U.S. Attorney, Ms. Robinson improperly spent federal funds on numerous personal things, including a wedding, a divorce, and a vacation.

As a former federal prosecutor in Augusta, Georgia, I once handled many prosecutions like this one involving embezzlement of government funds.  One oddity I would note about this case is that, generally, when I prosecuted, I didn't first obtain a complaint and then indict.  I simply obtained an indictment.  In this case, it appears the prosecutor filed a complaint first, and then obtained an indictment.  Was this done in order to get juicy details about the facts of the case out into the public arena?  Maybe not.

Of course, every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

WHITE COLLAR CRIME DEFINED

[Photo of Sociologist Edwin Sutherland from wikipedia]

In 1939, famous sociologist Edwin Sutherland defined white collar crime as crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.

This definition has been criticized by many other the years since then.  For example, as a part-time criminal justice professor, I have often taken issue with Sutherland's definition because it requires that the crime must have been committed by a person of "high social status" in order to be classified as white collar crime.  In my opinion, even an embezzlement committed by a low level bank teller would constitute white collar crime.

Do you agree? What is your opinion about Sutherland's definition of white collar crime?

A Goolsby "War Story:" Some Vain White Collar Criminals I Have Prosecuted!

[Carly Simon and Song Depiction from wikipedia]

Surely, we all love the classic Carly Simon hit, "You're So Vain."  Over the years, as a former federal prosecutor for over 20 years, (and currently, as an Augusta, Georgia criminal defense lawyer), I have witnessed some vain criminal defendants!  Here are a few quick examples:

1.  I once prosecuted a nursing home bookkeeper who stole the patients' money so that she could feed her clothes-buying addiction.  She bought so many clothes that her husband had to build an extra room to hold them!

2.  I also once prosecuted a bank employee for embezzlement who was so vain that, when her daughter gave birth to a baby, the new grandmother allegedly broke off all ties with her daughter, (and new grandchild), so that her friends would not know that she was, in fact, old enough to have grandchildren!

Now, that's what I call vanity!  I'll bet you have met a few vain folks in the past, too!  

Theft, Embezzlement, and the Bull Dogs

As a "Double Dawg," (i.e. a proud graduate of the University of Georgia, both undergraduate and law school), I try to keep up with all the "goins' on" at my old alma mater.  Usually, I enjoy reading about the University of Georgia Bull Dogs football team.  But today, I read news reports about a new criminal case at the school.  According to the reports, a former university business manager has been charged with racketeering and theft by conversion.  (In Georgia, theft by conversion is the statutory name for what is frequently called embezzlement in other states.  Did you know that the 50 states often have different names for many of  the same generic crimes?)

In this case, the news reports indicate that, between 2005 and 2009, the business manager, (at the University's Carl Vinson Institute of Government), embezzled about $220,000 by allegedly submitting bogus petty cash disbursement receipts while utilizing fictitious names.  As a former prosecutor, (and currently, as an Augusta, Georgia criminal defense attorney), it would appear that this may be yet another case in which the victim institution failed to have adequate checks and balances in place to prevent theft.  In my experience, as we have discussed here before, embezzlement is generally a crime of opportunity.  Offenders can often get away with it, often over lengthy periods of time, simply because no one is looking over their shoulders.

Here's hoping that the next news reports I read about UGA are happier ones dealing with my beloved Bull Dawgs!  Go Dawgs!

Danielle Steel and How to Avoid Being a Crime Victim?

How many of you are fans of the books of popular romance novelist, Danielle Steel? According to Wikipedia, the prolific writer has sold over 580 million copies of her books!

But sadly, even famous writers, including Ms. Steel, like everyone else, can be crime victims, too. Have you read the news reports that her former long-time assistant has just been sentenced in a San Francisco federal court to serve 3 years in prison for reportedly embezzling nearly $1 million from Ms. Steel?

No one can really speculate about how this particular crime occurred. But, generally, in many cases, employee embezzlement can be difficult to prevent or detect. As a former federal prosecutor, I prosecuted a number of embezzlement cases that had gone undetected for years, until the perpetrator made a mistake.

Such cases generally prove you should always have checks and balances in place to help keep folks honest. And sadly, criminal cases like this one also suggest that you can never fully trust anyone any more. Don't you agree?

Another Goolsby "War Story:" The Case of the Perfect Crime!

As a former federal prosecutor in Augusta, Georgia, I once prosecuted a bank executive who had pulled off the "perfect crime." Well, it was almost perfect! After all, she did get caught, or else I wouldn't be telling this story! Here is what happened and how she got caught.

"Miss Moneypacker," the crooked bank executive, was in charge of handling the accounts of the bank's wealthier customers. Her job included opening their accounts, arranging lines of credit, and otherwise providing them with good, personal service. (She was sort of like Mr. Drysdale or Miss Hathaway in the "Beverly Hillbillies!") In other words, if a wealthy bank customer needed something, they knew to always call "Miss Moneypacker" for assistance.

"Miss Moneypacker" was not only very attractive, but also she was very intelligent. She realized, for instance, that, as to her handling of the wealthy customers' accounts, her bank bosses had virtually no checks and balances in place. In other words, other than routine bank audits, there was no one looking closely over her shoulder. So, here is what she did: Occasionally, a wealthy bank customer would contact her and inform her that they were moving out of town. Then, these customers would come in the bank, give her a check, and ask her to help pay off and close their lines of credit. Now, "Miss Moneypacker" was smart enough NOT to steal these checks. She dutifully used the customer's check to pay on their line of credit. However, the wiley "Miss Moneypacker" did NOT close out the customer's line of credit. Thereafter, the customer moved away, believing that they had paid off and closed their accounts. Little did they know that "Miss Moneypacker" had kept their accounts open and continued to borrow thousands of dollars against their line of credit! She did this over and over again. She also submitted paperwork causing the bank to send monthly statements to new bogus addresses established by her. And she always carefully made payments each month on the (still open) lines of credit.

"Miss Moneypacker" also took many other steps to make sure she would never get caught. For instance, she would request the production of new PIN numbers and ATM cards, ostensibly for these customers, and then she would use the ATM debit cards to withdraw thousands of dollars each day at various ATM machines. This "perfect crime" actually continued for several years without any problems! Can you guess how "Miss Moneypacker" got caught?

One day, "Miss Moneypacker" got sick! So, she wasn't there when Harvey Smith, one of her former customers who had moved away, came back into the bank. Harvey had moved back to town and wanted to open a new line of credit! Another bank official had to step in and help Harvey, because "Miss Moneypacker" was out! Just imagine Harvey's (and the bank official's) shock and surprise when they learned that Harvey still owed the bank over $100,00.00 on his (still open) line of credit! The bank called the F.B.I. and all "Miss Moneypacker's" shenanigans were discovered! She was charged with federal bank fraud and bank employee embezzlement. The bank had lost over half a million dollars!

So, the moral to this story might be that, if you want to commit the perfect crime, you should never call in sick! (If "Miss Moneypacker" had been at work that day, she could have finessed the situation with Harvey, and I suspect she would still be the "line of credit queen!") Or maybe the moral should be: Don't do the crime, if you don't want to do the time!