The term white-collar crime refers to a broad range of crimes that are predominantly fraudulent and financially motivated. The majority of white-collar crimes are prosecuted at the federal level and charged as felonies. A federal white-collar crime conviction carries an extended prison sentence and costly fines. For example:
- Money Laundering – Imprisonment of up to 20 years, up to $500,000 in penalties, and a fine double the amount of laundered money
- Bank Fraud – Imprisonment of up to 30 years and a maximum fine of $1 million
- Tax Evasion – Depending on whether the defendant is an individual or corporation, imprisonment of up to five years and a fine between $100,000 and $500,000
If you are being investigated, wanted for questioning, or have been arrested for a federal white-collar crime, you must act as quickly as possible. If you have yet to schedule your appointment with one of our Charleston federal white-collar crime lawyers, here’s what you should know about federal white-collar crimes.
Understanding The Most Common Types of Federal White Collar Crimes
Federal white-collar crimes are non-violent offenses committed by individuals who are usually government or business professionals and part of a group, corporation, or syndicate. They normally involve concealment, breach of trust, and deceit instead of physical force. They encompass a plethora of crimes, with the ones below being the most common:
- Fraud – Fraud is a general term that covers a wide variety of schemes used for defrauding people of money. Common examples of this white-collar crime include healthcare fraud, mortgage fraud, corporate fraud, bank fraud, and securities fraud, among many others.
- Embezzlement – This generally involves larceny or theft and can be as simple as an employee stealing cash from the cash drawer or as complex as an employee transferring millions of dollars from the company account to their own account.
- Money Laundering – This entails funneling money through different accounts (drug money, for instance) into legitimate business ventures (real estate, restaurant, laundromat, etc.) with the purpose of washing or laundering the dirty money and passing it off as profits from the legitimate business.
- Tax Evasion – This involves underpaying or not paying taxes, commonly by intentionally not declaring or making false declarations (exaggerating deductions or declaring no income or less income or profit) to tax officials.
- Cybercrimes – These are crimes that involve the use of computers and the internet, such as hacking, identity theft, and child pornography, among others.
- Insider Trading – This federal white-collar crime is committed to acquiring non-public, material information, such as information on stocks, to gain an advantage in the market.
- Ponzi Scheme – This infamous investment scam, named after the original mastermind of the scam, Charles Ponzi, is an investment scheme that offers exceptionally high returns but at the cost of money from new investors. Once the scheme fails to attract new investors, leaving the old investors with life-changing financial losses.
Get Legal Help From Our Experienced Charleston Federal White Collar Crimes Lawyers Now
At Query Sautter & Associates, LLC, our Charleston federal white-collar crimes lawyers know what it takes to defend federal offenses and are prepared to fight relentlessly to secure the best possible results for your case. To schedule a case evaluation with our Charleston federal white-collar crimes lawyers, call 843-795-9500 or reach us online.