When you think of white collar criminals, it is typically a man.  Historically men make up an overwhelming proportion of white collar criminals, but the times are changing.  As women make their rise in the world of business, it is no surprise that the number of female criminals is also rising.

Described as pink collar criminals, women are often far more crafty in their crime than their masculine counterparts.  Check out these bad girls of the business world, and get to know a few notorious pink collar criminals.

Martha Stewart – Insider trading

Martha Stewart is arguably the most famous pink collar criminal of today’s business generation.  She is the epitome of greed with her insider trading scheme.  In 2001, Martha got word that her ImClone Systems stock was headed for the gutter, and she unloaded close to 4,000 shares.

Stewart avoided a miniscule loss of only $45,673.  The problem with her scheme is that she is a female, and she is famous.  There are plenty of envious people seeking out any sign of debauchery to take her down.

Martha Stewart was eventually found guilty on nine counts, some of which include obstruction of justice, insider trading, and securities fraud.  It sounds quite severe, but Martha only served 5 months in prison.  Her fines totalled $30,000 in the end; $15,000 less than she would have lost on her stocks.  She is now worth a reported $600 million.

Rita Crundwell – Embezzlement

Rita Crundwell is known for embezzling more than $53 million from the town of Dixon, Illinois.  She worked as the town’s comptroller, and got away with her dirty scheme for more than 20 years.

While the town was cutting back in numerous areas financially, Crundwell was reportedly raking in over $37,000 for every day she worked.  Her crimes were only discovered when someone sent an anonymous letter to the city clerk, revealing the fact that Rita Crundwell had a secret bank account in which to funnel city funds.

Yolanda Tolentino Ricaforte – Received illegal gambling payoffs

Yolanda Tolentino Ricaforte worked alongside the former Philippine President to funnel tens of millions of dollars into several offshore bank accounts.  For 24 of the Philippine President’s 31 month term, Ricaforte ran the books for the collection and disbursement of the illegal gambling monies.

She was also accused of using her name to open several bank accounts to store the payoffs.  She gave aliases to the payment makers, and did a great job of keeping records for the authorities.

Xuyen Thi-Kim Nguyen – Mortgage fraud

In 2005, Xuyen Thi-Kim Nguyen was convicted of defrauding a mortgage company for a sum of more than $5 million.  After her cohorts plead guilty to their part in the scheme, Nguyen was found guilty of conspiracy, mail fraud, and fraud by wire.

She was placed on home monitoring until the date of her sentencing.  In the four days of down time, Xuyen fled from her home in Texas.  The courts filed a failure to appear warrant for her arrest, and Nguyen became one of America’s most wanted pink collar criminals.