1 Legal Studies Final Study Guide What is Crime As a general rule an individual can engage in any type of conduct he or she wishes UNLESS there is a law prohibiting those actions An Elaboration on the Types of Crimes Burglary Entry into any building or occupied structure with the intent to commit a crime Even if you don t actually steal it it s burglary Burglary in theft is when you actually steal it Burglary is merely the entry into any building or occupied structure with the intent to commit a crime Exception If it s an abandoned structure house there s no intention of security so burglary can t be committed there Does a person who steals something in a store also commit a burglary No it s shoplifting The whole point of burglary is that you expect to be secure in your home or wherever else but in a public store it s shoplifting How about if a guy enters a store and hides in the bathroom until the store closes and then at night loots the whole store Is this burglary Yes He had no right to be in the store at nighttime It doesn t have to be breaking and entering if you re in there when you re not supposed to BURGLARY Penalty is up to 20 years Has a person committed a crime if he purposely comes upon the land of another but has no intent to commit a crime Yes he s committed trespassing but not burglary Criminal Trespass legal right to be there Larceny Theft It occurs when a person enters the land of another without permission or with no Penalty up to 2 years and or a fine of not less than 500 nor more than 5000 Taking and carrying away of the property of another without consent and with the intent of depriving the other of the goods permanently Putting your foot on someones dropped dollar is just taking if you pick it up it s taking and carrying away theft Bank statement shows that you have 99 100 when you really only had 910 You withdraw 99 100 and months later the bank asks for it back Have you done anything wrong You knew something was wrong so it s THEFT You don t own that money The property refers to possession and not ownership 2 Is it larceny if you lease a car to someone for three years and then take it back in the middle of the night and lease it to someone else YES Is it theft if a mechanic puts new brakes on your car and you take the car off the lot without paying for the repairs After all you do own the car YES Owner leaves keys in a car and you take it for a spin around the block Is this theft No you did not intend to deprive the owner of the goods permanently It is joyriding or unauthorized use of a motor vehicle Shoplifting Embezzlement Retail Theft Penalty depends on value of what is taken Robbery force Electronic Fencing Identity Theft When someone takes property entrusted to him or her with the intent to deprive the owner of the property An embezzler is lawfully entrusted with the property as opposed to a thief who improperly obtains possession of the asset Ex Bank Teller steals money from his her own bank Everything about Theft Larceny see definition for theft PLUS force or threat of How about a pickpocket Is that theft or robbery Generally it s usually not robbery but a purse snatch in which the victim is knocked to the ground would be When one uses the internet to sell property gained through unlawful means It is a crime to use the personal identification information of another Using the victim s personal information to obtain a financial advantage such as the misappropriation of a credit card or money from a bank account Most common form of identity theft is credit card fraud To stop identity theft the federal government has made identity theft a federal crime Under federal law it s called the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act Unlawful to buy or receive stolen goods knowing that goods are stolen Ex Buying a rolex off a street corner Receiving Stolen Property Conspiracy an unlawful manner Agreement between two or more people to commit a crime or to do a lawful act in Allows the government to file charges against anyone who has participated in the planning or commission of a crime and to hold each liable for the actions of the other Elements 3 Must have two people agree Can a husband and wife conspire to commit a crime Yes Is it a defense that the person to the conspiracy was too drunk to have formed the intent to conspire to commit the crime Sometimes depends The Agreement agree to do it Police s goal is to arrest you before you commit the crime when you Two guys sit in a bar talking about how they have no money One guy says I have an idea Lets rob the bank down the street The other guy says Sweet lets do it They shake hands As soon as a cop nearby sees them shake hands he arrests them Was this okay No the law requires one to commit an overt act A mere agreement is not enough If they drew up a map of the bank however they could be arrested Penalty Same as the crime that is to be committed What is White Collar Crime illegal actions committed in a business setting This includes such things as computer fraud health care fraud securities fraud insider trading theft of trade secrets embezzlement and tax evasion These are White Collar Crimes Bribery Money Laundering The act of offering something of value to another with the intent of influencing that person s opinion or to have something done in return by that entity The term originated during the days of Al Capone when organized crime owned laundromats to dispose of money obtained by illegal means Today the law is called the Money Laundering Control Act Its purpose is to go after the third party enterprise who claims ownership to money obtained through illegal means A person charged with the offense does not have to commit the crime which generated the illegal revenue Insider Trading stock in their own companies stock that has not been made public Cooking the books When corporate insiders such as officers directors and employees buy or sell When a person buy or sells stock while in possession of information about the Tyler s Sports Bar and Grill makes a fake book inflating their actual revenues in order to get a loan so they could build a microbrewery Cooking the books occurs when one makes a false statement to a bank 4 This crime occurs whenever a person makes a false statement of a material fact or overvalues property for purposes of inducing a bank to take action Does the bank have to rely up on the false statement in order to be convicted No whether the …