White Collar Crime Examples in Florida (2025)

White collar crimes encompass non-violent financial offenses that use fraud and deception to abuse trust for monetary benefit. Knowing white collar crime examples in Florida can help individuals understand the crime and any potential charges against them, avoid legal troubles, and protect their reputations. If you’re being investigated, getting help from a local white collar crime lawyer in Miami can protect your rights and help you build a strong defense.

What Is White Collar Crime?

White collar crime describes non-violent financial crimes perpetrated by people working in government positions or private businesses. These offenses usually consist of fraudulent activities and deceitful conduct, which break trust within professional and corporate environments.

Depending on the severity of the crime, charges can be filed with either the state or the county and can result in hefty penalties. Some common white collar crimes include fraud, embezzlement, bribery, money laundering, and insider trading.

Fraud

Fraud is the intentional act of misleading someone or another organization to obtain a financial or personal benefit. Fraud ranks among the most prevalent white-collar crimes appearing across numerous fields such as healthcare, real estate, and insurance.

An example of this would be if a clinic falsely bills Medicaid for a service or procedure that they never completed and collects money for the fraudulent service. This is healthcare fraud and is a federal offense. Other types of fraud include credit card fraud, real estate fraud, and insurance fraud.

Embezzlement

Embezzlement happens when a person who manages money or assets illegally takes them for their own benefit. Employees along with accountants and corporate executives frequently commit this type of crime.

A CFO could perform corporate embezzlement by covertly moving company funds to their personal account throughout multiple years. Corporate embezzlement is a criminal offense that carries the possibility of significant monetary fines and jail time.

Embezzlement frequently takes place in corporate environments where people who handle financial accounts directly, like payroll managers and financial officers, engage in misconduct. The act of stealing small amounts of money from a cash register constitutes a criminal offense that can result in legal action.

Bribery

Bribery occurs when people offer or accept something valuable to sway decisions by individuals who hold power positions like public officials or corporate executives. Businesses can engage in bribery when they provide kickbacks to executives to secure lucrative contracts. Public officials who engage in bribery face serious charges that frequently lead to extended prison time.

An example of bribery would be when a real estate developer gives a city council member a substantial amount of money to obtain approval for a zoning change that favors the developer’s project. Political bribery as demonstrated here breaks both Florida state regulations and federal statutes.

Money Laundering

Money laundering involves converting illegally acquired money into legitimate income to prevent law enforcement from detecting its origin. It is often the result of activities related to drug trafficking operations, organized criminal groups, and fraudulent activities.

Money launderers often use multiple transactions, including offshore bank transfers and high-value asset purchases such as luxury cars and real estate, to hide the original source of the illegal income. The federal government pursues legal action against money laundering violations through investigations and prosecutions.

An example of this would be if a restaurant owner gets large amounts of money from an illegal drug operation and deposits the funds into the business accounts to disguise them as legal earnings. This situation represents a traditional money laundering scenario because it involves blending unlawful money into the legitimate economic system.

Insider Trading

Insider trading happens when someone uses undisclosed material information about a publicly traded company to trade stocks and obtain an unfair benefit. Insider trading violates laws because it disrupts the integrity of financial market operations.

The illegal activity of insider trading extends to tip-offs where people with access to confidential information pass it to relatives or acquaintances who then use it to trade stocks. Insider trading convictions lead to severe penalties that include heavy fines as well as imprisonment.

An example of insider trading would be if a corporate employee overhears information about their company’s upcoming merger announcement, which will lead to a sharp rise in stock prices. They buy large quantities of stock before the merger details are disclosed to the public and profit greatly when the information becomes public. This instance demonstrates illegal insider trading which comes with intense penalties.

FAQs About White Collar Crimes Law in Florida

What Are Some Real Examples of White Collar Crime?

Examples of white collar crime are seen in the Enron scandal where executives falsified financial records and Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme that stole billions from investors. The Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal along with insider trading cases involving Martha Stewart represent additional examples of white collar crime.
The primary elements of white collar crimes typically include fraudulent activities along with embezzlement and financial trickery to achieve either corporate benefits or individual enrichment.

What State Has the Most White Collar Crime?

White collar crime rates in Florida remain high because the state sees many cases of fraud, identity theft, and Medicare fraud. Florida has become a prime location for scams and financial crimes because of its large elderly population and tourism industry. White collar crime reaches significant levels in states with large economies and extensive financial industries.

What Are the Top 3 White Collar Crimes?

Fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering represent the three main types of white collar crime. Fraud consists of wire, bank, and securities fraud, which utilizes deception to achieve financial gain. Embezzlement refers to the unauthorized use of funds that someone was trusted to manage within corporate environments.
The process of money laundering hides illegally acquired funds until they look legitimate and is typically linked to organized crime operations and financial schemes.

Does the FBI Investigate White Collar Crimes?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation takes the lead role in federal investigations of white collar crimes. The FBI focuses its efforts on investigating criminal activities involving financial fraud, embezzlement, bribery, and money laundering.
The FBI works together with both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to examine corporate fraud and insider trading as well as healthcare fraud and other financial crimes that affect economic stability.

Contact The Kirlew Law Firm

When facing white collar charges in Florida, The team at Kirlew Law Firm is here to help you in the legal process. Contact us today to get started securing your future.