Reading 3: Criminal Law

Question 1

crime

Answer 1

an offense against the public at large punishable by the official governing body of a nation or state

Question 2

tort

Answer 2

a private wrong that injures another person’s physical wellbeing, property, or reputation

Question 3

treason

Answer 3

the levying of war against the US, or the giving of aid and comfort to the nation’s enemies

Question 4

felony

Answer 4

a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in a federal or state prison for a term exceeding one year

Question 5

misdemeanor

Answer 5

a less serious crime that is generally punishable by a fine and/or prison sentence of not more than one year

Question 6

white-collar crime

Answer 6

a term used to describe various crimes that typically do not involve force or violence committed by and against businesses

Question 7

RICO

Answer 7

one of the most successful laws used to combat white collar crime, RICO prohibits an organization’s employees from engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity

Question 8

securities fraud

Answer 8

a fraud that occurs when a person or company provides false information to potential investors to influence their decisions to buy or sell securities

Question 9

Ponzi scheme

Answer 9

a type of securities fraud in which large gains are promised to investors, but in reality, newer investments are used to provide a return or older investments

Question 10

arson

Answer 10

the willful or malicious act of causing the burning of another’s property

Question 11

burning to defraud

Answer 11

a special category of crime providing for the punishment of persons who burn their own property with the aim of collecting insurance money

Question 12

larceny

Answer 12

the act of taking and carrying away the personal property of another without the right to do so

Question 13

robbery

Answer 13

the taking of property in the possession of another person against that person’s will and under threat of bodily harm

Question 14

burglary

Answer 14

the illegal entering of another person’s premises for the purposes of committing a crime

Question 15

bribery

Answer 15

the act of offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting something of value to influence official action or the discharge of a public duty

Question 16

false pretenses

Answer 16

a broad category of crimes that involves activities intended to deceive others or to obtain goods by making false claims

Question 17

forgery

Answer 17

the false making or alteration of a writing with the intent to defraud

Question 18

perjury

Answer 18

the crime of intentionally giving false oral or written statements under oath in a judicial proceeding after having sworn to tell the truth

Question 19

embezzlement

Answer 19

the wrongful taking of money or other property that has been entrusted to a person as a part of his or her job

Question 20

extortion

Answer 20

the act of taking or demanding money or other property from someone by using force, threats of force, or economic harm