Agents assigned to the FBI's Baltimore Field Office are responsible for investigating violations of federal law occurring within the states of Maryland and Delaware. This responsibility includes violations falling within the White-Collar Crime Program, one of this office’s highest priorities.
The FBI’s White-Collar Crime Program is the largest and most diverse of all FBI criminal programs, which include Organized Crime/Drugs, Violent Crimes, and Civil Rights. It is a very dynamic program and is changing at a rapid rate due to the globalization of communications, travel, business activities, and crime. During fiscal year 1998 (10/1/97 - 9/30/98), the White-Collar Crime Program used approximately 25% of FBI Agent resources and achieved 36% of the FBI’s total convictions.
The FBI defines White-Collar Crime as those illegal acts that are characterized by fraud, concealment, or a violation of trust and are not dependent upon the application or threat of physical force or violence. These acts are committed by individuals and organizations to obtain money, property, or services; to avoid the payment or loss of money or services; or to secure a personal, political, or business advantage.
In an effort to effectively manage the White-Collar Crime Program, the FBI has established four sub-programs, to include:
Economic Crimes primarily involve mail and wire frauds, counterfeit negotiable securities, bankruptcy, insurance, computer frauds, telemarketing and investment frauds, and other business-related frauds directed against both individuals and businesses.
Financial Institution Fraud investigations primarily involve check frauds, loan frauds, embezzlements, misapplications, and bribery matters occurring within or against national and international financial institutions, such as banks, savings and loans, and credit unions.
Government Fraud investigations focus on fraud, corruption, and conflict of interest in all federal agencies and programs. It also includes environmental crimes, health care fraud, and anti-trust violations.
Public Corruption initiatives are aimed at combating breaches of public trust by federal, state, and local officials and their private sector accomplices.
Rather than assign a particular priority to each of the sub-programs, the FBI has identified priority crime problems within the program as a whole and uses national initiatives to attack them. The following is a list of these identified crime problems: