In March 2015, I wrote here about a new bill that had passed in Utah requiring the state to establish a "Utah White Collar Crime Offender Registry." As described by The New York Times, the Utah Registry was set to become "the nation’s first white-collar offender registry, appending a scarlet letter of sorts on the state’s financial felons."

 

One year later, this law is now in effect in Utah and the White Collar Crime Offender Registry is up and running with over 100 offenders listed in alphabetical order, including their mug shot or other photo, birthday, height, weight, and "Qualifying Convictions" (e.g., Securities Fraud, Communications Fraud, Theft by Deception, and more).

 

For example, check out the screen shot below of the home page of the Registry. Ms. Acorn has the misfortune of showing up first on the list by virtue of her last name. By clicking on the red button, Registry users can see what, specifically, the state of Utah says Ms. Acorn did to earn a place on the list. In Ms. Acorn's case, she allegedly targeted an adoption agency and "submitted false applications and pregnancy tests to an adoptions center and received funds intended for pregnancy related expenses."

Under the law, offenders placed on the Registry will remain on it for (a) a period of 10 years for a first offense; (b) a second period of 10 years for a second conviction; and (c) a lifetime period if convicted a third time. 

 

It is one thing to read about the Registry as I did last year but it is another to actually see it. I found it pretty striking to see this list of "White Collar Crime Offenders" stacked up -- particularly with the accompanying mug shots or other photos (people on the registry may supply their own recent photo in lieu of a mug shot). If Utah's goal is to shame its white collar criminals, the Registry seems to be serving that purpose. 

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