Latour “LT” Lafferty recently discussed the impact of investor confidence on law enforcement’s prosecution of white collar offenders and the role of ethical leadership in white collar crime with the St. Petersburg Times. Although many law enforcement resources were reallocated to fight terrorism after 9/11, those resources are now being redirected towards fraud in an effort to provide citizens some accountability. According to Lafferty, this accountability is essential before investors are likely to return to the struggling financial and real estate markets. For example, the federal government has established a mortgage fraud task force identifying potential targets for prosecution and it is widely expected that there will be an increase in mortgage, securities and health care related fraud cases in the near future. Many organizations that are victims of fraud retain counsel to conduct internal investigations and then lobby local law enforcement officials to prosecute the offenders. Ultimately, however, Lafferty states that “the failure of ethical leadership is at the core of white-collar crime.” To read Lafferty’s Q&A click here.
Latour “LT” Lafferty Discusses White Collar Crime and Ethical Leadership
