The Impact of Embezzlement on Small Businesses According to the Oxford Dictionary, “embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or concealing assets from of one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted". It is this act of dishonesty that costs American businesses billions of dollars every year. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), “Embezzlement is considered a white-collar crime, a term coined in 1939. It is not a victimless crime. A single scam can destroy a company, devastate families and wipe out their life savings, or cost investors billions of dollars. “In today's economic decline, the number of cases of embezzlement in small businesses has increased dramatically. Bressler (2009) states that “Embezzlement may perhaps be the most serious crime affecting businesses, as many times the crime goes undetected for years. Since many cases of embezzlement are not reported to the police, experts can only estimate the extent of the embezzlement. Misappropriation can cost companies up to $90 billion each year. The current trend of economic decline has shown an increase in the number of arrests made for embezzlement. The following data shows this increase. Estimated arrests of all persons in the United States: 1994 - 2008 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Embezzlement 14,300 15,200 15,700 17,400 17,100 17,100 19,0002001 2002 2 003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008embezzlement 20,200 18,600 16,800 17,300 19,000 20,000 22,400 21,400 These statistics are estimates that take into account missing data and may differ from other published sources. The county-level files that are the source of this information are not official FBI releases and are provided for research purposes. While... half of the document... Works CitedBressler, Martin S. "The Impact of Crime on Business: A Model for Prevention, Detection and Remediation." Journal of Management and Marketing Research May 2 (2009). Web 21 January 2012 "Embezzlement". Oxford Dictionary. nd Print."Embezzlement Law." Np, nd, Web January 21, 2012 Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Web. January 21, 2012 McCown, Ella A. “Embezzlement: A White-Collar Crime: A Review of Federal and Supreme Court Cases During Economically Difficult Times. American Society for Business and Behavioral Sciences. February (2010). Vol 17, no. 1Puzzanchera, C. Adams, B. and Kang. W., (2011) “Easy Access to FBI Arrest Statistics 1994-2008” Web.Ruoco, Vincent. “Prevention and detection of embezzlement for small and medium-sized businesses and tax-exempt organizations.” Np March (2007). Network. January 21st. 2012.