Legal Definitions - organizational crime

Organizational crime refers to crimes committed by a corporation or its representatives acting on its behalf. Examples of organizational crime include price-fixing and consumer fraud. Although a corporation as an entity cannot commit a crime other than through its representatives, it can be named as a criminal defendant.

For instance, if a company's executives engage in insider trading, they are committing organizational crime. Similarly, if a corporation knowingly sells a defective product to consumers, it is committing a crime against the public.