Focus on a 45 year old woman, mother of 13 children. A man comes to her with a proposal. Invest in her company and he can guarantee a 100%, 200%, maybe even 300% return on what she gives in a few months. For her this means taking out a second mortgage on her house; the same house he hopes to pay off in full with the promised large return on his investment. Two years later, the home's windows are boarded up and the woman tells reporters the chilling details behind why her family has nowhere to spend Thanksgiving this year. His money is gone, along with his hopes of retiring from the two jobs he holds. Stories like this are heard too often from victims of white collar crime. “Lying, cheating and stealing. Simply put, this is white collar crime. The term – purportedly coined in 1939 – is now synonymous with the entire range of frauds committed by corporate and government professionals” (FBI, n.d.). White collar criminals don't stick a gun in anyone's back and demand wallets and valuables. Instead, they gain the trust of those they prey on. Worse, they use their status in society to create comfort in the minds of their victims. Some of the most notorious schemes in US history are Enron, WorldCom, and Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme. These three cases alone amount to losses of more than $70 billion. In any case, the victims are the same, American citizens. White-collar crime in America is insufficiently controlled due to weak laws, large numbers of victims, and the enormous scale of power of those involved. Some in the business world argue that recently intensified sentencing guidelines for white-collar crime provide sufficient punishment for the criminals involved. However, as the promise increases...... middle of the card ......tter. White collar crime must stop being seen as a non-violent, gentle class of crime. Programs, laws and guidelines must be put in place to protect the citizens these high-class, seemingly trustworthy criminals target. Works Cited Carbonara, P. (2007). It takes one to know one. Fortuna, 156(13), 108-116.Ettore, B. (1994). Crime and Punishment: An In-Depth Look at White Collar Crime. (cover story). Management Review, 83(5), 10.Federal Bureau of Investigation. (nd) White collar crime. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/white_collarHoltfreter, K., Van Slyke, S., Bratton, J., & Gertz, M. (2008). Public perceptions of white-collar crime and punishment. Journal of Criminal Justice, 36(1), 50-60. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2007.12.006Podgor, E. S. (2007). The challenge of white-collar sentencing. Journal of criminal law and criminology, 97(3), 731-759.