white collar crime
noun phrase

- a generic term for crimes involving commercial fraud, cheating consumers, swindles, insider trading on the stock market, embezzlement and other forms of dishonest business schemes

(The Legal Dictionary)

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Lying, cheating, and stealing. This is how the FBI describes white collar crime on its web site. The term dates back to 1939 and was coined by Professor Edwin Hardin Sutherland who defined it as a "crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation". It stems from the out of date assumption that business executives wear white shirts and ties. It also theoretically distinguishes these crimes and criminals from physical crimes, supposedly likely to be committed by "blue collar" workers.

One of the most common examples is the so-called Ponzi scheme, which promises high financial returns or dividends not available through traditional investments. Instead of investing the funds of victims however, the con artist pays "dividends" to initial investors using the funds of subsequent investors. The scheme generally falls apart when the operator flees with all of the proceeds or when a sufficient number of new investors cannot be found to allow the continued payment of "dividends."

This type of white collar crime is named after its creator—Charles Ponzi of Boston, Massachusetts. In the early 1900s, Ponzi launched a scheme that guaranteed investors a 50 percent return on their investment in postal coupons. Although he was able to pay his initial backers, the scheme dissolved when he was unable to pay later investors.

(sources: U.S. FBI, Wikipedia)

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"White collar crimes are a cause for concern in many industries."