WHITE COLLAR OFFENSES
Many individuals charged with white collar crimes face charges such as forgery, uttering a forged check, theft from an employer, embezzlement, false use of identification for personal use, fraud, or collecting fraudulent unemployment checks. White Collar Crimes are often complex, have hundreds of pieces of evidence, extensive bank records, and the individuals charged with these types of crimes generally are not aware of the fraud being perpetrated.
Recently, the State Attorney’s Office instituted the Economic Crimes Unit to focus exclusively on White Collar Crimes as they have become more pronounced in the Central Florida Area. In addition, most white collar crimes prosecutors seek some type of probation sentence with restitution ordered back to the victim as part of any plea deal.
Here is a brief explanation of the most common white collar crimes:
1. Forgery – Forgery involves altering or counterfeiting documents to defraud another individual. Usually, these cases involve transactions made for property or monetary gain. In most cases, the strongest defense is that the forger did not know that the document was forged when it was used. The State must overcome this knowledge element if they want to gain a conviction at trial.
2. Worthless Checks – Worthless checks involve individuals writing or using checks with third parties that bounce or checks that have no money in the checking or savings accounts. Knowledge is the key element the State has to prove in these types of cases. If a client never issued a prior bad check in their life or if the client is passing the check on for a third party to the victim, it will be more difficult for the state to prove to a jury that the client knew the check was worthless when used.
3. Embezzlement – Embezzlement usually involves cases where an employee steals from an employer. These types of cases are not likely to be sent to Diversion, even if it is the client’s first criminal offense. Usually, the victim wants to be made whole by having they amount taken returned to them. Intent is a key element in proving embezzlement and it's important for an experienced attorney to review all the financial documents the State Attorney's Office is alleging proves the crime of embezzlement.
At the Law Office of Bhavik Patel, we will work with clients to formulate legal defenses to white collar crimes that seek to have a client’s case dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense. Contact us today and schedule a free consultation.