Knowing the red flags of red-collar fraudsters could save your life

White-collar criminals are often thought to be nonviolent, but there’s one type of fraudster — red-collar criminals — who will commit acts of violence to conceal their crimes. Here, the author explains red-collar criminals and describes the red flags that signal their propensity for violence.

South Carolina lawyer Alexander Murdaugh had a problem. His business partners, clients and family were about to learn that he’d embezzled millions of dollars from his firm. His wife, Maggie, had grown suspicious and reportedly hired a forensic accountant to review her husband’s finances.

So, in June 2021, Murdaugh made a fateful decision. He shot Maggie and his younger son, Paul, to death then called 911 to report that he’d found them dead. Murdaugh later hired someone to shoot him — conveniently, the head wound he suffered was only “superficial.”  During his 2022 murder trial, jurors heard that Murdaugh killed his wife and son just hours after his business partner confronted him over $792,000 missing from the firm.

Desperate people resort to desperate acts, including fraud and murder. For more than 20 years, I’ve studied the intersection of fraud and violence, and coined the term red-collar crime, a subgroup of fraudsters who resort to violence to silence people who detect and disclose their schemes.

The myth of the nonviolent offender

There’s scant research on white-collar criminals and violence, which has allowed misperceptions about them to prevail. Consider this quote from a U.S. federal judge in the 1988 book, “Sitting in Judgment. The Sentencing of White-Collar Criminals,” by Stanton Wheeler, Kenneth Mann and Austin Sarat. “White-collar criminals are not people who are threatening the lives of others,” said the judge. “They are not violent people.”

Other criminal justice scholars have made similar comments. As Dan Kahan and Eric Posner wrote in a 1999 Journal of Law and Economics article, “White-collar offenders do not pose physical threats to others; the threat they pose consists of their ability to gain the confidence of a victim and then cheat him.”

The late professor David Maurer wrote in his 1974 book, “The American Confidence Man” that white-collar offenders are “neither violent [nor] antisocial.”

As criminal psychologist Stanton Samenow, Ph.D., observed in his 2014 book, “Inside the Criminal Mind,” fraud is classified as a nonviolent offense, so the offender is assumed to be nonviolent — an assumption repeated enough to be accepted as fact. But violent fraud offenders do possess certain behavioral risk factors that facilitate violence as a solution to a perceived problem no differently from non-fraud offenders who resort to violence (but for different motives).

Consider Alan Hand, former president of AFG Financial Group. He orchestrated a $100 million mortgage fraud scheme, and then while in jail, he tried to hire someone to kill the witness who reported him to authorities. Unfortunately for Hand, his would-be hired gun was an undercover police officer. As Hand told the cop, “I wish I was there to watch him suffer.”  He also instructed the officer to kill the man’s wife and children if they were home.

Red-collar methodologies

Red-collar offenders may engage in violent acts alone, but they may also rely on others to do the job for them. Some red-collar fraudsters gravitate to murder-for-hire plots because they think it gives them an airtight alibi. According to sociologist Donald Black, “Most solicitors [of murder] do not see themselves as killers … they want to get rid of a problem and go on with their lives. They see themselves protecting a way of life or restoring a way of life.”

Florida businessman Randy Nowak thought hiring a hitman to kill Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent Christine Brandt would keep his tax fraud and money laundering schemes hidden. In 2009, Nowak was sentenced to 30 years in prison for soliciting an undercover FBI agent to murder Brandt. Recorded conversations between Nowak and the FBI agent caught Nowak offering $20,000, with a $10,000 down payment, to eliminate Brandt. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Nowak also planned to burn down the local IRS office to destroy documents revealing his fraud.

In 2022, Jerry Banks, Berk Eratay, Aron Ethridge and Serhat Gumrukcu were arrested for their roles in the 2018 abduction and murder-for-hire plot of Vermont businessman Gregory Davis. According to prosecutors, Gumrukcu feared that Davis would tell the FBI that he was being defrauded by Gumrukcu in a multimillion-dollar business deal. Prosecutors allege that Gumrukcu solicited others to carry out his plan. Court documents indicate that Eratay paid Ethridge $100,000 up front to murder Davis. Ethridge then used half of the payment to hire Banks to carry out the murder.

On Jan. 6, 2018, prosecutors say that Banks, posing as a U.S. marshal, knocked on Davis’s door, claiming to have a warrant for Davis’ arrest. Banks then kidnapped Davis from his home and killed him. Eratay, Banks and Ethridge pleaded guilty and Gumrukcu was convicted of murder in April 2025 and faces life in prison.

Personality risk factors

Fraudsters who commit violent acts share many of the same personality traits of non-fraud violent offenders have. In my research, I’ve found that when red-collar offenders have narcissistic and psychopathic traits, coupled with criminal-thinking traits, a negative synergy forms, increasing the risk of fraud and violence.

Having a narcissistic sense of entitlement — the sense that one is owed special treatment and privileged to resources regardless of the imposition to others — may drive an individual to manipulate circumstances to satisfy their motives, whether the result is fraud, murder or both. Red-collar offenders who display extreme entitlement and exploit others to fulfill an agenda are more likely to use physical aggression against people they view as threats.

Other researchers suggest that psychopathy is linked to fraud offenders and red-collar offenders. As psychologist Robert Hare, Ph.D., remarked on red-collar offenders, “The capacity to kill without remorse was a seed inherent in the red-collar criminal that germinated when the proper conditions surfaced.”

The following case studies highlight the personality traits of red-collar criminals.

Frederic Tokars

Frederic Tokars was the image of success, but behind the scenes, the Atlanta, Georgia, attorney was engaged in a risky game of money laundering for drug dealers and tax evasion. His wife, Sara, knew about Tokars’ activities. A prosecutor on the case later referred to Sara as “a ticking time bomb” for her husband.

After he’d discovered that Sara had been investigating his business affairs, Tokars told an associate that she knew too much and he’d “have her taken care of.” He hired an associate, Eddie Lawrence, to kill Sara for $25,000. When Lawrence suggested that Tokars’ two young sons would be without a mother, Tokars reportedly replied, “They’ll be all right … they’re young; they’ll get over it.”

Lawrence subcontracted the hit to Curtis Rower for $5,000. Rower shot Sara to death in front of her children in 1992. Both Lawrence and Rower testified against Tokars, saying that he hired them to kill Sara. In 1997, Tokars received a second life sentence for his wife’s murder (he was already serving a life sentence for racketeering). He died in prison in 2020.

Tokars exemplified many of the personality traits often seen in red-collar offenders. As a psychiatrist observed of Tokars in prison, “Regarding his personality structure, it seems apparent that he has been dealt many narcissistic blows. He has a long history of manipulating and coercing people. He did not talk of his crimes at all, and he does not seem to have any remorse for his crimes.”

Eric Hanson

In 2008, an Illinois jury convicted Eric Hanson of the 2005 murders of his mother, father, sister and brother-in-law. Prosecutors said that Hanson killed them to conceal more than $80,000 he stole from his parents through forgery, mail fraud, credit card theft and identity theft. When his sister confronted Hanson, he threatened to kill her if she reported him. During the trial, the prosecutor commented that Hanson, “in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner, committed the execution-style murders out of greed and fear of having his fraudulent scheme discovered.” Hanson was originally sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

Hanson was evaluated by psychologist Marva Dawkins, who concluded that he had narcissistic personality disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), and antisocial features with no evidence of psychotic disorders. Dawkins testified during Hanson’s trial that the fraudster was unable to empathize with others. (ADHD and psychopathy diagnoses often overlap, but most people with ADHD, which is a neurodevelopmental disorder, aren’t psychopaths.)

Gender considerations

Red-collar crime isn’t just for men. Female fraudsters also engage in acts of violence. While both male and female red-collar offenders might commit the act of violence themselves or recruit others to carry out their misdeeds; however, female red-collar offenders are more likely to work as part of a team and convincing others to help them. Sante Kimes is a prime example of a female red-collar fraudster.

Kimes had obtained a $280,000 home loan using the name of an old acquaintance, David Kazdin. When Kazdin discovered that Kimes had fraudulently used his name to obtain her Las Vegas home, Kimes enlisted her son, Kenny, to kill Kazdin.

According to forensic psychologist Arthur Weider, Kimes displayed psychopathic personality features with “no guilt, conscience, remorse or empathy,” adding that Kimes was “socially charming, arrogant, full of herself [and] egocentric coupled with a superiority complex.”

Red-collar offenders might perceive hostile intent in the actions of others and react with a preemptive strike, whether it’s a family member or someone else.

Fraud examiners and red-collar crime

North Carolina state insurance auditor Sallie Rohrbach disappeared after completing an audit of Michael Howell’s insurance agency in Charlotte, North Carolina, following a complaint. Between 2004 and 2008, Howell allegedly embezzled more than $150,000 in insurance premiums from his clients. Rohrbach reportedly found evidence of the theft in 16 months of Howell’s bank statements. She’d emailed her supervisor, saying, “There were issues in each month … no negative balances, but he is floating money.” Rohrbach’s body was discovered in a field 25 miles from Howell’s agency. Authorities charged Howell with Rohrbach’s murder.

Anti-fraud professionals don’t always consider personal safety on the job, but it’s something they should think about. As one fraud investigator commented in a 2016 Journal of Accounting and Finance article, “I was required to conduct certain interviews, and during the interviews, they [interviewees] perceived it as a threat. It was in a remote area and people were making enquiries about where we were staying and what we were detecting and things like that.” Understanding the risk factors behind red-collar crime and how subjects might behave during interviews can help fraud examiners protect themselves.

Red flags

Rohrbach’s colleagues from the North Carolina Department of Insurance said they had no indication of trouble. As a department spokesperson said in the wake of Rohrbach’s death, “It was a routine case. She was looking at some finances, looking at the books.” The insurance department spokesperson told the Associated Press, “It’s the last thing we expected … We just don’t expect our people in the field to be put in this kind of danger.”

However, Howell’s wife later said that her husband argued with Rohrbach when she questioned him about his finances and struck Rohrbach with a computer stand. Howell’s reported actions are all signs of a red-collar fraudster.

Identifying personality traits and behavioral warning signs of violent fraud offenders isn’t standard training for anti-fraud professionals, but having this information could help them take proper precautions during examinations. The following isn’t an exhaustive list of red flags, but fraud examiners may use it as a starting point for reducing personal risk.

Physical behaviors Clenches jaw or fist, paces, scowls, violates personal space, destroys property, glares, trembles or shakes, breathes rapidly, shoves or pushes.

Intimidating behaviors Is argumentative or uncooperative, displays unwarranted anger and challenges authority figures. Protests your engagement in an investigation or audit.

Verbal behaviors Makes verbal threats, such as “What comes around, goes around,” “I don’t get mad, I get even.” Some ignore these statements because they’re perceived as jokes or clichés. Other signs involve insults and condescending language.

Personality traits Projects or blames others for their problems, displays a sense of entitlement, has difficulty taking criticism and perceives themselves as victims.

Mitigate the risk

Common sense developed from years in the field isn’t enough to overcome a red-collar fraudster intent on silencing a fraud examiner from detecting and reporting their scheme. It’s important to consider that a white-collar offender could engage in violence under the right conditions. In a 2016 Journal of Accounting and Finance study, auditors reported that it was important for management to know the risks and have a safety plan to protect their anti-fraud employees. Managers should communicate a “tone at the top” that doesn’t tolerate workplace violence with the following actions:

1. Have a written policy that details warning signs of a possible red-collar fraudster.
2. Educate employees about workplace violence.
3. Encourage employees to report incidents.
4. Assure employees that they won’t be retaliated against if they do report incidents of violence.
5. Outline procedures for investigating incidents. Employees should feel safe to bring concerns to management and know that reporting isn’t a sign of personal weakness or unwarranted complaining.

The following are safety precautions for working in unfamiliar environments:

• Let others know where you’re going.
• Work with a team if it’s suspected that a subject could be argumentative or volatile.
• Review an individual’s criminal history, if available, before meeting with them.
• Disengage from an escalating argument with the subject of an interview by calmly suggesting that the conversation can take place at another time.
• Consider the time of day and location of an assignment. For example, reschedule a late evening meeting to an earlier time when more people will be on site.
• Identify all exits on site.
• Request security during audits and investigations, if necessary.
• Encourage employees to share information about suspicious behaviors.
• Contact authorities if you’re in danger.
• Have a protocol for managing dangerous situations during examinations.
• Know your employer’s policies regarding workplace violence.
• Determine actions to take when fraud is discovered and must be disclosed to parties involved in the case.

Red-collar offenders aren’t anomalies to ignore; they possess many of the same antisocial and behavioral traits that other violent offenders have. As demonstrated in this column, violence against anti-fraud professionals is a real threat. It’s essential to recognize the warning signs that may precede violent acts and have an escape plan when working in potentially dangerous situations.

Frank S. Perri, JD, CFE, CPA, is an attorney in Illinois who also travels nationally lecturing on red-collar crime. Contact him at frankperri@hotmail.com.