A World without Criminal Law

Think for a minute that you have entered a new world, a new society.  Crime is rampant.  There is no law enforcement to help you.  You must fend for yourself.  Your town was just hit by the worst natural disaster ever.  Police are helping rebuild, and can't help you fight off crime. Contractors have a tool in one hand and a gun in the other.  They always have to look over their shoulders.  People have to be careful of dangerous people.  Looters would be roaming the street looking for anything they can find.  You will have your window one day but when you wake up the next it is gone.  Riots will break out and continue on until they get tired.

Picture from:
http://media.egotvonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/
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You have to protect yourself because the police can't do anything for you, because there are no laws to keep you safe, and people doing the correct thing, said Ms. David on NPR.  Police no longer have any power because they can't stop or arrest criminals, because there are no laws that give them the power to do anything.  Society is corrupt.  People by nature are evil. It is society and the laws that help keep people in line, to make them good and keep the evil at bay.  Ethics and morals are only a side effect of law.  Law not only creates ethics and morals but dictates them too.  Because of the nature of man, if someone else has something that you want and there is nothing that can stop you and you know there will be no consequences you will take it.  That's just the nature of man.  The thing that does stop you though is the law, that is the consequence.  If it weren't for criminal law there would be no good in the world because humans are simply evil by nature.  That being said why should you or I have to be good if there are no consequences?  Who would tell me I can't kill you if I want your money?  Who would get me in trouble if I break into your house?   Nobody, because there are no laws stopping me.   But we do have laws so you don't have to worry about that.

People are scared of getting in trouble.  They always have that fear and that is what keeps people good.  By human nature people don't want to get in trouble. So if man can't get in trouble for their actions then they don't have the fear to be good.  If they don't have the fear to be good there is no reason to and they will do bad things like; looting, robbery, killing, stealing, and rape. 

NOW that doesn't seem like a very good society at all.  Aren't you glad that there are laws that will protect you, and tell you how to live.  Laws tell society how to act, and stop those that break the norm for society and threatens others in that society.  Criminal law is important to society because not only does it help you live your life it also stops bad people from doing bad things.  Now imagine another world.  A world with laws.  It is very peaceful crime is at a minimum.  You don't have to constantly be looking over you shoulder.  That's mostly the world you live in.  That is a world with criminal law!!

September 11, 2001

September 11, 2001:A Day to Remember

Standing motionless in front of our televisions, we stood motionless with our jaws to the ground. We watched in shock as the Twin Towers in New York went from two beautifully built skyscrapers to rubble and dust on the ground. Our hearts stopped momentarily as people all over the country were informed that terrorists had hijacked four United States planes and attempted to crash them. The results of this horrible crime would be embedded in every citizen from then on. America was never the same after this day. On September 11, 2001, our nation was changed forever.

This tragic event left millions around the nation speechless. How could a person's goal be to kill innocent civilians? Why would anyone do this? Is this going to happen again? What can the United States do in order for this to never happen again? After the attacks on the Pentagon and the Twin Towers, our nation went through great measures to prevent an unfortunate event like this to over happen again. September 11, 2001 was such a shock that our nation went through an incredible amount of change in such a short period of time.      

1. Patriot Act

• decision that the United States chose to pass almost immediately after the bombing of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon
• allowed the nation to get a better grip on security and anything that had to do with terrorism
• showed how frazzled America was; we had never experience something like this in the past
• greatly impacted the U.S. Government
• unified the House and Senate to work together in order to pass this bill quickly
• addressed new consequences for new crimes such as terrorism
2. Airport Security

• security at airports tightened up tremendously
• new installations were made for security machines that costed the U.S. millions of dollars, for the safety of everyone
• baggage checking increased
• there was always a possiblility of some random interviews with authorities
• airplane riders had to get many more security checks when they went to the airport
• showed the carelessness and weakness of the U.S. aviation system
• completely changed and altered America's airports
3. Security Hype on September 11, 2001 Anniversaries

• set paranoia around the country on aniversaries
• U.S. citizens would always remember what happened on September 11, 2001
• extra caution was taken at airport, security increased
• police recieved more calls about possible terrorist threats in 2011 than ever before
• awareness of terrorism happening again got American's attention
4. United Americans together as one

• tragic event showed America's strength and perseverence
• U.S. was able to pick itself up from the ground filled with rubble and hold her head high
• a sense of nationalism arose from 9/11
• people were able to discover their normal lives again

The terrorist attacks on America impacted citizens greatly. We can't get on an airplane without getting our bags checked. We can't bring liquids onto planes because it could carry a bomb. We can't say good-bye to our loved ones at the gates anymore. Things have changed tremendously. Though these changes are sometimes annoying, tidious, and time consuming, the United States created these new rules for our own safety. Afterall, it's better to be safe than sorry.

9/11 also gave us the opportunity to work together as a nation to overcome something greater than our own selfish, personal problems. On September 11, 2001, we were reminded of what kind of country we are and what beliefs we stand for.

An event big, like this, will always have an impact on our society, whether it's for the worse or the better. Either way, lessons are going to be learned, and mistakes won't be made again.

Photos are from Associated Press

Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme

Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme

The Largest Financial Fraud in History

1970-2009

PONZI SCHEME: Taking money from the new investor to give to the old investor.

THE CASE: 

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme was a 50 billion dollar financial fraud led by former businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor and financier Bernard Madoff. People were investing into funds that both didn’t exist and/or were falsely represented. Madoff had many investors into his “company” and they kept bringing in new money to pay off what people perceived were their profits. He stole from the new investor and gave it to the old investor while stealing some money for himself. This was false representation of product and services. In most cases in this situation there was no product, just deception.

HOW HE GOT CAUGHT:

Madoff was turned in by his investors who realized that the money they were apparently making didn't match the numbers on the stock. He avoided confrontation with the SEC by keeping good relations with them throughout the scandal while making false filings at the same time. He was eventually charged and proven guilty. He expected to be caught within 10 years of starting this, but since he wasn't, he continued for almost 40 years.

SENTENCING:

Madoff was sentenced to 105 years of prison on account of 11 federal felonies.

In the video attached, Barbara Walters talks about her interview with Madoff while he was in jail. He talks about how he is happier that he is in jail because is isn't afraid anymore. His son killed himself and his wife left him, but it almost seems as if Madoff is at peace with himself after committing such a horrible crime.

• http://abcnews.go.com/US/bernie-madoff-live-fraud-victims-anger-familys-tells/story?id=14823108

MAJOR COMPANIES HE AFFECTED:

• Fairfeld Greenwich Advisors--- $7.5 billion
• Tremont Group Holdings--- $3.3 billion
• HSBC--- $1 billion
• Ascot Partners--- $1.8 billion
• Banco Santander--- $2.8 billion

These are just a few of the thousands of people that his scheme affected. The many people who lost money to him are expected to receive about 70% of their money back.

HOW HE AFFECTED SOCIETY:

• Made people lose trust in investment companies
• People started to not trust other companies because they didn't think they were real
• The people involved lost a lot of money

Madoff kept this scheme going on for so long and affected so many Americans including charities, universities, companies and people. He deserved to have a life sentencing of jail, but he proved to be a brilliant man by having this scheme last for so long. As said earlier, he expected to get caught within 10 years of starting this and it lasted for 39 years. No other person has kept a scheme going on for that long in history. Although he is a criminal and deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail, he did make history for the length that this scheme went on. Society learned from this that we need to be more aware about where we put our money because we don't really know what this person is doing with it. There is no law that can stop this from happening because it is already illegal to perform a crime like this, but the SEC has become more aware of the problem, and is starting to catch more people who are participating in this. 

Frank Abagnale's 50 Year Relationship with Fraud

Introduction to Frank Abagnale, Fraud, and Check Fraud
Fraud is when trickery is used to gain a dishonest advantage, which is often financial, over another person. It comes in many different forms ranging from financial fraud to pharmacy fraud. Forgery is the creation of a false written document with the intent to defraud.


In the late 1960’s Frank Abagnale was wanted by the FBI for stealing millions of dollars by forging checks and for masquerading as numerous professionals including; a Pan Am pilot, a pediatrician, an assistant Attorney General, and a BYU professor. By the time he was finally caught he was all of 21 years old. Despite everything Abagnale stole and did he was very careful to attack large corporations instead of private people. This isn’t to say fraud doesn’t have a huge impact on corporations but fraud can be devastating for individuals.


Frank Abagnale Now
After 5 years in prison The FBI arranged to shorten Abagnale’s prison sentence if he’d agree to work in their check fraud department. His legitimate life has certainly been different than his teen years. He's been working with the FBI for the past 35 years and he's also started his own business that helps other businesses and corporations prevent fraud. To his credit he paid back every penny he stole in his life as a con artist and made sure each dollar went to the appropriate place. Abagnale is still considered one of the most knowledgeable people on check fraud and he is responsible for the development of the Stanford Uni-ball 207 "forgery proof pen" which can't be touched by any of the chemicals or solvents used to alter writing on checks, check washing. He has written books on his 5 year adventure as well as on how to protect yourself against fraud. The movie "Catch Me If You Can" starring Leonardo DiCaprio was based off of Abagnale's book, and Abagnale frequently speaks about fraud at different events around the U.S. 







Impact of Fraud on Society
In the past few years fraud in society has really changed. The average person doesn't have to worry about the Frank Abagnale's of the world too much, but we should still be concerned about fraud; particularly identity theft and check forgery.

With the advancement of computers and credit cards fraud has become more prevalent than ever. Identity theft has become a large problem, more than ten million people have their identity stolen in the U.S. a year. For perspective ten million people is roughly the population of Belgium. Its very easy for thieves to obtain your information and for them to use it against you; you can be denied a loan or a mortgage, because of identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission defines 6 different ways thieves steal identities; dumpster diving, skimming, phishing, changing your address, pretexting and standard stealing. Simply keeping an eye on your bank and credit card statements can help you reverse the theft quickly in the event your identity is stolen.

Another kind of fraud to watch for is check forgery. Check forgery nearly disappeared for a couple decades, because bleach was the only chemical used in altering checks. Criminals eventually found two dozen compounds capable of removing ink. The Stanford pens have been very effective against this kind of crime, but check forgery is still widespread. Now anyone can cheaply download check writing software and drop the image of someones signature into the signature box. Check forgery is very serious and its a growing issue. It's estimated that Americans loose more than 20 billion dollars a year because of check fraud. This is four times the amount Americans were loosing 18 years ago.

The saddest part about fraud is that it is very rarely prosecuted. As technology advances, the way we protect ourselves must also advance. We must be flexible, and remember that very few thieves repay what they stole as Frank Abagnale did. People have to monitor their finances and protect themselves as best they can, because once their money or identity is stolen chances are it will be very difficult to retrieve.