White-Collar Crime

Before the recent notoriety of Newport Beach, the state of Florida--notably the city of Ft. Lauderdale--was considered the center of most boiler room activity. But the Florida Legislature passed new legislation “that caused them all to pack up and move out here,” according to one local law enforcement official.

During a raid at a Los Angeles-area boiler room recently, investigators found a placard on one salesman’s desk that read: “We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you.”

Despite the fact that the Los Angeles-Orange County area is the second largest metropolitan area in the United States and is now recognized as the nation’s fraud capital, the area currently has only a third as many FBI agents as New York City, and half the number of federal prosecutors, according to U.S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner.

Los Angeles is also the bank robbery capital of the country, with about 1,400 holdups a year. However, with the average bank robbery netting just $2,000, the stickup men’s annual take does not approach the losses suffered in just one average-size bank fraud.