White Collar Federal Criminal Defense
Depending on what the feds claim occurred, there are many categories when talking about criminal defense and white-collar cases. The biggest one would probably be embezzlement at the federal level.
This is where somebody is an employee connected with a business, a corporation, or even a mom-and-pop store, and that employee is embezzling, taking, or stealing funds or goods—whatever the case may be — and benefiting from it, affecting what we call interstate commerce. It's pretty easy to do, and that's what triggers the number one factor for the feds to become involved.
Federal Criminal Prosecutions
The feds typically will not get involved in a situation where it's a small-time operation, and only a few funds are being lost. Still, you're talking about any sophistication when talking about thousands of dollars being stolen.
That's typically when the federal government gets involved, using its funds to prosecute someone. But it really is going to have to be a situation where a lot of money and sophistication are being utilized.
Otherwise, it doesn't mean it won't be prosecuted; it means it won't be prosecuted at the federal level. So, embezzlement is probably one of the biggest white-collar-type crimes that we defend, and I've been doing this for over 26 years at the federal level.
Bank Fraud
The next area, I would say, would be bank fraud. Sometimes, it's very close to the embezzlement structure, but bank fraud is when banks are involved. All these banks are federally insured, so if someone is using a bank or stealing from a bank — any time a bank is involved, there's some criminal activity.
Then, a lot of times, the FBI—the federal government—will get involved in that investigation. They will give it to the federal prosecutors and let them decide whether or not they're going to deal with it or whether they're going to pass it on to the state government.
Bank fraud is definitely one of the big categories under the white-collar area when you're talking about criminal defense. I've defended people for years at the federal level for bank fraud-related crimes and helped them avoid jail time.
Credit Card Fraud
The next area I see in a white-collar crime subcategory would be credit card fraud. These sophisticated individuals are employees, workers, or anybody involved in any credit card scheme.
They're taking money from their own business, or somebody they know can be involved with a federal case and would fit under the umbrella of credit card fraud. We're not talking about some small-time person doing some credit card transaction.
You're talking about somebody who is sophisticated and is taking large sums of money. You can bet that the federal government will usually get involved with the investigation and the prosecution.
Investment Schemes
Another category of white-collar criminal defense would be investment schemes. Many times, people will claim they've got investments in real estate or other types of businesses, so they're taking capital from people. Those people think that somehow that capital is going to be invested, and they're going to get dividends.
There are usually big promises made, but of course, nothing is typically in writing, and even if there is something in writing, good luck trying to enforce it against the person being charged with some sort of investment/Ponzi scheme.
You're going to see these types of cases where people think that by giving money, they're going to get these great investments. The defendants in these types of cases typically do not invest in anything.
They are not doing anything; they are basically just pocketing the money. Many times, if it's a Ponzi scheme or pyramid scheme, they're going to give very small dividends just to keep the fraud alive while they are taking the big money from the people. They usually don't even have an account opened, so this is another form of federal white-collar crime.
If you're looking for a federal criminal defense attorney — somebody who's been around the block — with street smarts and experience in these types of defenses, you've come to the right place. Pick up the phone. Make the call. Let's sit down.
Let's talk under the attorney/client privilege, and I'll give you some good ideas about what you can do to defend yourself and what I could do as your criminal defense attorney to assist you.
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