Five Unexpected White Collar Crimes
White collar crimes, like the ones listed below, are sometimes referred to as “victimless” crimes. But most prosecutors don’t see things that way. These financial crimes usually have individual financial victims. In many cases, a financial loss is just as stressful as a personal injury. Additionally, society suffers when people commit “victimless” crimes. Therefore, prosecutors are very aggressive in these cases.
So, a Tampa criminal defense lawyer must thoroughly prepare a defense to a white collar crime case, even if the matter eventually settles out of court. This diligent approach is more time consuming. But the investment of time usually pays off in the end. Favorable out-of-court settlements usually feature reduced charges and/or reduced sentences that significantly lower the direct and collateral effects of a white collar case.
Fraud
This broad term basically applies to any exchange that involves a false statement of material fact, if the false statement is calculated to produce a financial gain.
Garden variety frauds include false payout promises. Steve promises to send Bill $10,000 if Bill pays $300 in taxes, finders’ fees, or commissions. Bill sends Steve $300 and never sees a dime of the alleged $10k.
More complicated fraud schemes include bankruptcy fraud, mail fraud, tax fraud, and other federal crimes.
One fraud scheme usually means multiple allegations. For example, if Steve contacted Bill via email, Steve has committed wire fraud in addition to the underlying financial fraud.
Insider Trading
If a stock purchase or sale includes beneficial, non-public information that gives a person an advantage in financial markets. Many insider trading offenses are not malicious. The buyer or seller simply digs a little deeper and does some additional research before s/he pulls the trigger on a transaction.
Usually, the mens rea (criminal state of mind) in a white collar crime case is intentional. “Intentional” refers to the conduct, not the result.
Identity Theft and Other Cybercrimes
Identity theft and computer system “hacking” are two of the most widespread computer crimes. Florida is home to one of the highest number of identity theft and hacking crimes in the nation.
Identity thieves often use someone else’s information, such as a Social Security number, to borrow money and buy goods and services. In hacking cases, a Tampa criminal defense lawyer sometimes argues that the defendant didn’t want money. Instead, the defendant wanted to embarrass the organization or prove a point.
Embezzlement
This offense is basically theft plus a breach of trust. Embezzlement could be on a very small scale (an employee taking a few dollars out of a cash drawer) or a complex scheme to transfer millions from a company’s accounts to the embezzler’s accounts.
Money Laundering
Following a familiar theme, money laundering could be a pedestrian scheme. Adam buys a gift card with cash he made off a drug deal. Other times, money launderers funnel cash through several accounts and eventually into legitimate businesses, where it becomes intermingled with the genuine revenues of the legitimate business and is no longer identifiable as having originally come from the commission of a crime.
Count on a Hard-Working Hillsborough County Attorney
A criminal charge is not the same thing as a criminal conviction. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Tampa, contact the OA Law Firm. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
Source:
ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/update-victimless-crime
