What’s the price of fraud?
It’s quite common to see people describe some crimes as victimless. The idea that no one suffers is used to justify arguing for decriminalization. So, for example, taking a soft drug like cannabis is not supposed to hurt anyone. Indeed, if you read the right medical reports, it’s actually good for relieving pain. Put all this together and you have a lobby for allowing people to smoke or make tea out of the drug. Better still, states can tax the sales to help reduce the deficits. No matter whether this is right, you also hear the same type of argument about crimes against large corporations like insurance companies. Many suggest there are no individual victims, that large companies can afford a level of fraud without stockholders losing their dividends. Put the other way round, it’s very rare to see any senior executives facing criminal charges for defrauding their own company. Interestingly, many of the trials have actually resulted in not guilty verdicts as juries have failed to agree senior executives are sufficiently dishonest even though they have benefitted financially from their activities. Even attempts to hold fraudsters liable in the civil courts have run into trouble.