Business Law:White Collar Crime
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Business Law
Question
Writing Assignment 6
White Collar Crime (pg. 191)
Helm Instruction Co. hired Patrick Walsh to work as its comptroller. Walsh convinced Helm’s president, Richard Wilhelm, to hire Shari Price as Walsh’s assistant. Wilhelm was not aware that Walsh and Price were engaged in an extramarital affair. Over the next five years, Walsh and Price spent more than $200,000 of Helm’s funds on themselves. Among other things, Walsh drew unauthorized checks on Helm’s accounts to pay his personal credit-card bills. Walsh also issued unauthorized salary increases, overtime payments, and tuition reimbursement payments to Price and himself, altering Helm’s records to hide the payments. After an investigation, Helm officials confronted Walsh. He denied the affair with Price and argued that his unauthorized use of Helm’s fund was an “interest-free loan.” Walsh claimed that it was less of a burden on the company to pay his credit-card bills than to give him the salary increases to which he felt he was entitled. Did Walsh commit a crime? If so, what crime did he commit? Discuss.
[State v. Walsh, 113 Ohio St. 3d 1515, 866 N.E.2d 513 (6 Dist. 2007)]
(See page 168)
Solution
Title: Business Law
Length: 3 pages (825 Words)
Style: MLA
Preview
Business Law
In this case, Walsh committed a crime. By using the company’s funds without the owner’s consent meant that Walsh committed a corporate criminal liability because he interfered with the terms of the employment contract. Committing a crime involves both actus Reus and Mens rea. Therefore, these two elements must occur simultaneously for one to be convicted of a criminal act. Walsh could therefore be charged with a criminal liability because he had a wrongful mental state while undertaking the criminal act of being fraudulent. He violated the duty of acting independently and remaining truthful in his job whereas he could have followed a formal procedure to acquire the help that he needed. In addition, Walsh attracts serious penalties that may even include life sentence as a result of the criminal liability.
