Bus 207 - Ch. 6 Criminal Law

Miranda Rights

A list of rights that police in the United States must read to suspects in custody before questioning them

Define Petty Offense

A minor crime that is punishable by a small fine and/or imprisonment for less than 6 months

Hacker

A person who illegally accesses or enters another person's or a company's system to obtain information or to steal money

Infancy

A person who is not yet a legal adult may use this defense to defuse the guilty-mind requirement of a crime

Define Felony

A serious crime, such as murder, rape, or robbery, that is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death

Cramming

A type of Telemarketing Fraud in which companies bill consumers for optimal services that the consumers did not order

Define a White Collar Crime

A variety of nonviolent illegal acts against society that occur most frequently in the business context

Define Actus Reus

A wrongful behavior that is associated with the physical act of a declared crime

Define Embezzlement

A wrongful conversion of another;s funds or property by one who si lawfully in possession of those funds or that property

What are the two elements needed to punish an individual for criminal behavior

Actus Reus and Mens Rea

The False Claims Act

An act that allows employees to sue employers on behalf of the federal government. They must first notify the government of their content to file the case on behalf or the government.

Define Insider Trading

Insider trading is defined as the use of material nonpublic information to make an investment profit.

What is the purpose of criminal law?

To punish an offender for causing harm to public health, safety, or morals

True or False? Categories of different crimes are organized by the seriousness of the offense.

True

True or False? It does not matter how much the "item of value" is worth as long as there was an intent of bribery

True

What are the punishments for a violation of the RICO Act

Up to $25,000 per violation and/or imprisonment for up to 20 years

Justifiable use of Force

Use of force wears necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to the defendant or to another or to prevent the imminent commission or a forcible felony

Pretexting

Using or causing other to use false pretenses, fraudulent statements, or other methods under false pretenses to obtain the telephone records of another

Define Liability Without Fault (Strict Liability)

A legal term that imposes responsibility for damages regardless of the existence of negligence

What are the three elements of Fraud?

- A material false representation made with intent to deceive - A victim's reasonable reliance on the false representation - Damages

List the 8 Common Affirmative Defenses to Crimes

- Infancy - Mistake of Fact - Intoxication - Insanity - Duress - Entrapment - Necessity - Justifiable Use of Force

Who are "public officials" defined as?

- Members of Congress - Government Officers and Employees - Anyone "acting for or on behalf of" the Federal Government

Name the 5 Red Flags of Fraud

- No independent proof of profitability - Control by a single person - No audited financial statements and no evidence of internal controls - Unusually high rates of return - New investors relying primarily on existing investors when deciding to invest

What are the three successful federal laws for fighting business crime?

- RICO - The False Claims Act - The Sarbanes-Oxely Act

Criminal Law defines 1)__________ and provides 2)_____________

1) Criminal Behavior 2) Guidelines for punishment

What is Commercial Bribery?

A bribe in exchange for new information of payoffs

Virus

A computer program that rearranges, damages, destroys, or replaces computer data

Define Bribery

A corrupt and illegal activity in which a person offers, gives, solicits, or receives money, services, or anything of value to gain an illicit advantage

Define Misdemeanor

A crime that is less serious than a felony and is punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment for more that one year or by death

Define Forgery

A criminal falsification by imitating, impersonating, or altering a real document with the intent to deceive or defraud

Define Extortion (Blackmail)

A criminal offense in which a person gains money, property, and/or serviced from another by wrongfully inflicting harm on the other's person, property, or reputation

Cyber Terrorist

A hacker whose intention is the exploitation of a target computer or network to create a serious impact, such as the crippling of a communications network of the sabotage of a business or organization

The Sarbanes-Oxely Act

An act the criminalizes specific non audit services when provided by a registered accounting firm to an audit client; also increases the punishment for a number of white-collar offenses. Designed to protect investors after financial/accounting scandals.

What is Mail Fraud?

An attempt to deceive the public with the use of mails to further a fraudulent scheme

Define Fraud

An intentional deception to gain an advantage over another person that causes harm to them

Laws against _____________________ are designed to maintain the integrity of the government

Bribery of a Public Official

Computer Crimes

Crime committed using a computer (Hacking, Cyber Terrorism, Viruses)

Whistle Blower Protection

Employee protection in disclosure of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices

True or False? Mail Fraud is not a federal crime?

False - Mail fraud is a federal crime, and it includes commercial carriers and courier services.

True or False? If the employer is found guilty of retaliation, they are forced to pay the employee three times the amount of back pay plus special damages.

False - They are forced to pay the employee twice the amount of back pay plus special damages

True or False? The False Claims act does not provide protection for employers who use the law.

False - employees are protected under this act

What are the three categories of crimes used today?

Felony, Misdemeanor, and Petty Offense

What element distinguished criminal trials from civil proceedings?

Government Involvement

Vicarious Liability

Legal doctrine under which a party can be held liable for the wrongful actions of another party

Strict Liability Ofense

Offense for which no Mens Rea is Required

What is a Bribery of Foreign Officials?

Payments to foreign officials to influence an official act or decision corruptly, or to influence a foreign government

Probable Cause

Reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion

What is Stock Option Backdating?

Stock Option Backdating occurs when an employee falsifies documents to make it appear as though the net profits of the company are larger than they actually are

Define the RICO Act

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is a U.S. law that provides extended penalties for criminal acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. (Prevent legitimate businesses and their employees from serving as covers for racketeering)

What is the Wire Fraud Statute

The Wire Fraud Statute attempts to prevent the use of wire, radio, or television transmissions or defraud the public

Insanity

The defendant had a severe mental illness that substantially impaired the defendant's capacity to understand and appreciate the moral wrongfulness of the act

Intoxication

The defendant says he or she took an intoxicant without awareness of its likely effect, mistook its identity, or took the intoxicant under force.

Duress

The defendant says he or she was forced to perform an act against his or her will

Mistake of Fact

The defendant says his or her honest and reasonable mistake about a fact relevant to the commission of the crime negates the idea of a guilty mind

Necessity

The defendant was acting to prevent imminent harm, and there was not legal alternative to the action he or she took

Entrapment

The defendant would not have committed the crime or broken the law if not induced or tricked into doing so by law enforcement officers

Fill in the blank - False Claims Act. If the government chooses to intervene and prosecute the case, then ________________________.

The employee would receive 25% of the amount recovered

Define False Pretense

The illegal obtaining of another's property by making a materially false representation of an existing fact with the intent to defraud

Define Mens Rea

The mental state accompanying a wrongful behavior (i.e. the crime was purposeful, they know what they were doing, they were reckless, or they were negligent)