Since the first edition of the Encyclopedia of White Collar and Corporate Crime was produced in 2004, the number and severity of these crimes have risen to the level of calamity, so much so that many experts attribute the near-Depression of 2008 to white-collar malfeasance, namely crimes of greed and excess by bankers and financial institutions. Whether the perpetrators were prosecuted or not, white-collar and corporate crime came near to collapsing the U.S. economy. In the 7 years since the first edition was produced we have also seen the largest Ponzi scheme in history (Maddoff), an ecological disaster caused by British Petroleum and its subcontractors (Gulf Oil Spill), and U.S. Defense Department contractors operating like vigilantes in Iraq (Blackwater).
White-collar criminals have been busy, and the Second Edition of this encyclopedia captures what has been going on in the news and behind the scenes with new articles and updates to past articles.