In all 50 states, sex offenders must register with the government.
Now fraudsters convicted of white-collar crimes are doing the same, at least in Utah. Last year, the state’s legislature passed a law setting up a registry for white collar criminals, which is open to the public and features recent pictures of offenders, physical descriptions, and details on their crimes.
The registry has been online since February and is now coming under fire from some critics who think the program unfairly targets small-time offenders who can’t afford to pay restitution to their victims, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, “Convicts who comply with court orders on time and pay restitution in full won’t appear on the list.”
While this provision may encourage criminals to make their victims whole, it does favor those criminals who have enough money to do so. Others, like Kenneth Ray Wagner, who was convicted in 2008 of defrauding his insurance company have been unable to pay full restitution.Wagner’s lawyer, Tara Haynes, told the Journal that he client has suffered enough, paying steep fines and spending time in jail.
“He is not a white-collar criminal,” Ms. Haynes told the paper. “He’s a blue-collar construction worker.”