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What is the Cost of White-Collar Crime?
Theft doesn’t require a getaway car or a gun. White-collar criminals use the internet, the phone, the Postal Service, and deception. If you’re charged with a white-collar crime in Central Florida, you must retain – immediately – the services of a Lakeland white-collar crime attorney.
The FBI tells us that white-collar crimes cost this nation more than $300 billion annually. Medicare fraud alone reportedly exceeds $60 billion a year. The average bank robbery is for $3,177, but the average white-collar computer crime may be worth as much as $500,000.
White-collar crimes can ruin businesses, take savings from families, and cost investors billions in losses. If you are under investigation for a white-collar crime, or if you’ve already been charged with a white-collar crime, speak to a Lakeland criminal defense lawyer as quickly as possible.
Which Crimes Are White-Collar Crimes?
If you commit fraud or forge documents or signatures to obtain money or property unlawfully, you are perpetrating a white-collar crime. White-collar criminal offenses include but are not limited to:
- embezzlement
- fraud
- forgery
- money laundering, and
- identity theft
What Are the Consequences of a Conviction for a White-Collar Crime?
White-collar crimes can be charged as misdemeanors or as felonies – and prosecuted in a state court or a federal court – depending on the details of the charge and the criminal record of the defendant. Most federal white-collar criminal prosecutions are for felony charges.
The penalties for a white-collar criminal conviction depend on the amount of money or assets involved, the nature of the crime, and whether a defendant has previous criminal convictions. It’s rare, but the most egregious white-collar crimes may be penalized with life in prison.
What “Extra-Legal” Penalties Can White-Collar Crimes Entail?
The penalties imposed by a state or federal court for a white-collar criminal conviction are not the only penalties a convicted offender may face. A white-collar criminal conviction is typically followed with a civil lawsuit brought by a victim or victims seeking to recover their losses.
A conviction for a white-collar crime may also prompt the seizure of your bank accounts or even the forfeiture of your home, and if you hold a professional accreditation or license in the state of Florida, you’ll probably lose that accreditation or license.
Are You Being Investigated?
Because white-collar criminal suspects usually pose no threat of violence, investigators often take their time to build a persuasive “air-tight” case against a suspect. Of course, police officers and prosecutors can make mistakes, and sometimes, an innocent person is accused.
If you learn that you are the target of a white-collar criminal investigation in Florida, contact a Lakeland criminal defense lawyer immediately. A lawyer’s quick and early intervention can help you “get in front of” an investigation and possibly save you months of apprehension and anxiety.
Your lawyer may even persuade the government that you should not face charges, but if you’re charged with a white-collar crime, your lawyer may negotiate a plea deal that’s reasonable and acceptable to all parties involved.
In What Other Ways Will an Attorney Help You?
If you are placed under arrest for a white-collar crime, you can’t act as your own lawyer. Instead, politely exercise your right to remain silent, politely insist on your right to legal counsel, and do not answer questions from police investigators or prosecutors unless your lawyer is present.
When a criminal defense lawyer prepares a defense strategy for a white-collar case, the first step is examining the prosecution’s evidence. The case may be weak, and there may be other ways to interpret the evidence. For example, it’s possible that you were framed, coerced, or entrapped.
The law usually requires a prosecutor to prove that a defendant had criminal intent. If you make an entirely unintentional financial mistake, your defense attorney will insist that your lack of criminal intent should lead to a dismissal of the case or a not guilty verdict at trial.
Should You Accept a Plea Deal?
If you did not commit a white-collar crime, your lawyer will use every legal tool available for your defense. However, if the case against you is strong, and if your conviction is a certainty, the prosecutor may offer you a lesser sentence in exchange for a guilty plea to a reduced charge.
In some white-collar cases, a plea bargain may be a defendant’s best option, but you should not accept any plea deal – or sign any legal document – unless your Lakeland white-collar crime attorney approves and recommends it.
What Else Should You Know About White-Collar Crimes?
If you are targeted for a white-collar criminal investigation or prosecution, don’t try to manipulate or wrangle your way out of it. You won’t know what evidence the investigators have, and anything you say could be twisted or misinterpreted and used against you.
Instead, retain your own white-collar criminal defense attorney and say nothing. Let your attorney do the talking. The smartest way to protect yourself in a white-collar criminal investigation or prosecution is to adhere to the advice of an experienced and reliable attorney.
If you are investigated or prosecuted for a white-collar crime, you must be defended by an attorney who has substantial experience representing those charged with white-collar crimes and protecting their rights. In Central Florida, that attorney is Andrea DeMichael at DeMichael Law.
Attorney Andrea DeMichael Will Work for You and With You
Even if the white-collar charge you face is for a misdemeanor, you cannot take the risk of a conviction. Attorney Andrea DeMichael will evaluate your case with no cost or obligation, provide sound legal advice, and advocate aggressively and effectively for the justice you need.
As a former prosecutor, attorney Andrea DeMichael knows the law from both sides of the courtroom. She brings her substantial criminal defense experience to every case and every client.
If you are charged with a white-collar crime in the Lakeland area or anywhere in Central Florida, now or in the future, schedule a free case evaluation with attorney Andrea DeMichael by calling DeMichael Law – as quickly as possible – at 863-216-1831.
