Is there anyone tracking Boston-area white collar crime?

Submitted by partyorca t3_10djbgp in boston

“ZOMG violent crime!!” Is a headline-grabber, to be sure. It’s very easy to imagine being robbed or ripped off or battered, in no small part because our media is soaked in performative violence.

You’re far more likely to be affected by white collar crimes in some way, from wage theft to embezzling to whatever the hell we haven’t charged George Santos for yet, but we never see it in the headlines.

Does anyone have a good feed for reporting on Boston-area white collar crime? I’d rather know who’s ripping off their employees or screwing over a small business’s retirement fund with their gambling problem than I do about some dopesick guy on Mass & Cass knocking over a vending machine.

4

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

RailRoad_Candy t1_j4m5u9x wrote

You can usually find the really successful White Collar criminals speaking at Harvard. Keep an eye out this Spring.

33

Conan776 t1_j4m7kks wrote

Harvard is getting a bit more selective. These days you really want to have a few war crimes under your belt to really stand out from the competition.

18

spedmunki t1_j4lznt1 wrote

Universalhub has had a lot of articles on Covid relief scammers getting caught

17

TheSakana t1_j4lw5v3 wrote

One place to look is the website for the US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts for any white-collar stuff that reaches the federal courts, though I don't know of any industry reporter.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr

edit: You can also see what the Mass AG's Office releases for state-level matters.

https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-the-attorney-general

16

[deleted] t1_j4ndg4x wrote

I believe MA AG’s website also has a running list of companies they’ve either investigated and/or disciplined or fined.

3

[deleted] t1_j4mc4x0 wrote

How about landlord crime. All these scumbag landlords charging through the roof for shithole apartments.

8

yo_soy_soja t1_j4mybd1 wrote

Grab some coffee at 100 Federal Street and listen to all the finance people talking about how they're fucking over the working class.

7

crazy_eric t1_j4m0kdw wrote

I don't have to worry about getting stabbed with HIV infected needles by White collar criminals on the train.

6

Chappy_Sinclair_ t1_j4m2xnn wrote

It's been some time since I've read a story about roving gangs of real estate agents terrorizing Red Line passengers.

5

florida_born t1_j4plblp wrote

Every month my big management company charges 3% to charge rent to a card (any type of card). Only way to avoid this is paying by check. Passing fees like this is illegal in MA. My big management company literally told me “our lawyers said it was legal” and the MA attorney general said the the division of banks was responsible for enforcement (they are not) and no one can figure out a thing. The building I live in is 42 stories tall with 16 apartments per floor. This is one of 10 this company manages in Boston. Edit: I reported a white collar crime and no one cared.

4

Potential_Category49 t1_j4mjj4k wrote

lukewarm take: there probably isn’t a ton of white collar crime being knowingly committed, because these crimes eventually result in visible, problem-causing business outcomes than can’t be buried. Finding these crimes when they’re just starting out, before the consequences of the crime start boiling over is like sifting for a needle that may or may not exists in a vast haystack of hard-to-publicly-access documentation. Short of a well-staffed IRS, the best way to spot these crimes is probably AI-based auditing of tax filings, payroll documents, and any other accounting documents filed with the local/state/federal government.

if it’s systemic injustices you’re interested in— well, for the most part they’re quite legal. white collar crimes are recognized as crimes only because they significantly impede profitable business over the long run.

−4