Gainesville White Collar Crime Defense Attorney

White collar crime can refer to a number of illegal activities that typically involve unethical business practices for the purposes of personal gain. White collar crime is common in the business world, but also affects the world of politics at various levels of government. Some white collar crimes happen out of ignorance of the law. Some people believe in earnest that cutting corners in business or unethical decisions for personal benefit are acceptable as long as no one gets hurt, but this is not the case. Ignorance of the law is not a viable defense, and white collar crimes are not victimless acts. If you find yourself facing a white collar crime charge, talk with an attorney today.

Types of White Collar Crimes

Many criminal offenses qualify as white collar crimes. A few examples include:

• Fraud. Any type of misrepresentation or lie in an official capacity, such as in a business contract, application for licensure, or certification, can qualify as fraud. Attempting to defraud an organization such as an insurance company would also qualify as fraud.
• Bribery. This term applies to illegally trading money for favors. For example, a business owner may offer a city councilperson a sum of money to roll back a zoning law that impedes the business owner’s plan for expansion. Another example would be an arrested suspect offering money to a police officer in exchange for release.
• Forgery or counterfeiting. Creating unofficial facsimiles of official documents, currency, or other valuable printed materials is counterfeiting. Forgery is the act of signing another person’s name or creating a falsified official document, such as a fake photo ID.
• Extortion. This term applies to threats to force compliance with specific demands.
• Theft. This is a broad term that can apply to any illegal misappropriation of property.
• Embezzlement. This term applies to diverting company funds or violating a fiduciary duty for personal gain.
• Abuse of public office. Public officials who use their authority to coerce favorable treatment or who make public policy changes for personal benefit abuse their positions and could face criminal prosecution.
• Identity theft. Using another person’s personal information to pose as that person is identity theft. This can include applying for credit cards under another person’s name or writing checks out of another person’s checkbook, which may also constitute forgery.
• Investment scams. Unwary investors may fall into Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, or multi-level marketing scams. These scams operate on trust, and those running the scams typically take as much as they can from unaware investors, pay off earlier investors, and then take what they can when the scam implodes on itself.

These offenses may not result in physical harm to victims, but they can financially ruin them, hurt their credit scores tremendously, or cause valuable business deals to fail. An employee who engages in any type of white collar crime will inevitably injure the employer’s reputation if news of a white collar crime conviction reaches the media. Anyone facing unjust accusations of white collar crimes will need the assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney.

The lawyers at Fischer Redavid PLLC have extensive experience with all types of criminal defense cases in the Gainesville, Florida area. Most white collar crime cases involve economic experts, financial auditors, insurance companies, and various other entities, and we have the experience to help clients in the toughest cases. Contact us today to schedule a free case evaluation with one of our attorneys. Once we review the white collar criminal charges against you, we can let you know how our firm can help.