crime

The quantity of counterfeit goods entering the U.S. is increasing, and it gets worse around an event like the Super Bowl. Federal agents recently seized more than $6 million of counterfeits and shut down more than 300 illegal websites. But consumers are at risk for more than just getting a shoddy NFL jersey.

Isaac Underwood's job requires him to don a Statue of Liberty outfit to attract customers for Liberty Tax Services. But on Thursday, Underwood, 27, behaved more like a costumed hero, chasing a pair of thieves who robbed his employer of $280.

Bogus burglaries, fake funerals, self-inflicted air rifle assaults -- people go to great lengths to convince insurers to cut a check to cover their personal and financial losses. But the financial gain from phony pain and suffering is often short-lived.

On Monday, the FBI trumpeted the news that violent crime dropped 5.5% in 2010 while reported property crimes fell 2.8%. The news, though, is not all so positive. A 24/7 Wall St. review of the data shows that violent crime rose in a several of the largest and poorest cities in the U.S.

Payday lenders already get a bad rap for offering high-priced loans to cash-strapped consumers. Now here's another reason that cash advance outlets may come under attack: Researchers say the proliferation of payday lenders in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods fuels violent crime and drives down...

It's been more than two years since Bernie Madoff's gigantic Ponzi scheme collapsed, but the blame game is just beginning. And many of the victims are jockeying for position, hoping to recover some money from other parties who might be deemed partly responsible for the fraud.

Jared Lee Loughner, the disturbed young man charged in this weekend's massacre in Tuscon, highlights the physical dangers that individuals with untreated mental illness pose to society. But the financial costs of mental illness are high too.

A robber this week swept $1.5 million worth of gambling chips off a table at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and escaped by motorcycle -- in under three minutes. Such temptations can be overwhelming for those looking for a quick win. Here are some of the biggest jobs of the last few years.

In the 10th Las Vegas casino robbery this year, an armed man stole about $1.5 million in betting chips from the Bellagio hotel early Tuesday morning and escaped on a motorcycle. No shots were fired and no one was injured.

The head of the "Girls Gone Wild" DVD distributor in Australia was charged with vehicular manslaughter in a fatal hit-and-run crash in West Hollywood, Calif., the Associated Press reported.