White-collar crime refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses, and government professionals. These crimes are typically committed by people in the business world who, as a result of their job position, are able to gain access to large amounts of other peoples money. Examples of white-collar crimes include wage theft, fraud, bribery, Ponzi schemes, insider trading, labor racketeering, embezzlement, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery.

White-collar crimes are generally non-violent in nature and include public corruption, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering, to name a few. Despite their nonviolent nature, the impact of these crimes is far from harmless. White-collar crimes can destroy a company, wipe out a persons life savings, cost investors billions of dollars, and erode the publics trust in institutions.

The FBIs white-collar crime program focuses on analyzing intelligence and solving complex investigations—often with a connection to organized crime activities. The FBI works closely with partner law enforcement and regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Treasury Departments Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

In summary, white-collar crime is a nonviolent crime characterized by deceit to obtain or avoid losing money, or to gain a personal or business advantage. These crimes are typically committed by individuals or organizations in professional or business environments.