TULSA – Attorney General Mike Hunter today announced his office will begin working in further partnership with the Tulsa Police Department (TPD) and the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office by offering more assistance and resources to prosecute white collar crime in the Tulsa area.
As part of the collaborative effort to curbing white collar crime in Green Country, the TPD and Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office will begin referring more complex, high loss and fraud cases to the Attorney General’s Office for investigation and prosecution.
Attorney General Hunter said strengthening the alliance between his office, TPD and the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office will resolve more cases and deter crime.
“Today’s announcement reinforces my commitment to collaborating with local law enforcement to provide the necessary resources to combat corruption and fraud in the state,” Attorney General Hunter said. “White collar crimes like embezzlement and fraud leave real victims, whose lives are never the same even if they recover what was lost. A main goal through this partnership is to help more Oklahomans get their lives back on track after they have been wronged.
“I look forward to working closely with TPD Chief Chuck Jordan, as well as Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler to help more Tulsans.”
To further the efforts, the TPD Financial Crimes Unit has begun a campaign to label white collar crimes as “Catch ‘Em if You Can” cases and encourage local media and Tulsans to be on the lookout for these types of crimes and report them, said TPD Chief Chuck Jordan.
“We appreciate Attorney General Hunter for his leadership and dedication to the city of Tulsa,” Chief Jordan said. “Last year alone, detectives at TPD received over 5,400 complaints of white collar crime. Our partnership with the Attorney General’s Office, combined with the ‘Catch ‘Em if You Can’ outreach campaign, we hope to identify suspects and resolve cases quicker.”
Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said when state and local law enforcement agencies can work together, the community benefits.
“We take white collar crimes seriously,” District Attorney Kunzweiler said. “This partnership will help fight crime and better protect the public. We believe an additional benefit of our efforts will act as a deterrent and lower complaints for these types of crimes.”