Hialeah Federal Defense Lawyer

Drug trafficking in Hialeah

Most drug-related offenses in Florida are prosecuted under the state’s drug trafficking statute. The state drug trafficking law does not only include the offenses of selling and distributing drugs, but the law also allows state prosecutors to charge defendants even if there is no proof of the defendant’s intent to distribute or sell a controlled substance. Instead, the prosecution may provide evidence that proves the defendant possessed a controlled substance in the minimum threshold quantity to support a trafficking charge. Common drug charges we see in Florida include:

• drug possession
• drug manufacturing
• drug distribution
• prescription drug charges

With fentanyl deaths on the rise, state and federal law enforcement agencies have increased their efforts to investigate drug offenses in Florida. In addition to being intensely investigated, drug charges are also aggressively prosecuted.

Federal white collar offenses

White collar crimes often lend themselves to federal prosecution because they often cross state lines, or they involve one or more federal agencies. Some of the common white collar cases we see in South Florida are:

• fraud cases
• Ponzi scheme cases
• embezzlement cases
• racketeering cases

There are a host of other white collar offenses that occur in South Florida. Even if you are not directly involved with a criminal enterprise, you may still be investigated and prosecuted for a white collar offense.

SOUTH FLORIDA FRAUD DEFENSE

Within the legal context, fraud refers to any intentional deception that is motivated by the desire for unlawful gain. The object of desire may be money, property, services, or goods. Fraud has basically existed for as long as humans have been engaging in commerce. Some common types of fraud in Hialeah and throughout South Florida are:

• bank fraud
• mortgage fraud
• credit card fraud
• PPP loan fraud

Bank fraud colloquially refers to any type of deceptive scheme that involves a financial institution. Because the deposits at most banks are federally insured, bank fraud is most often a federal crime. Victims of bank fraud can be bank customers, businesses, or the financial institutions themselves. There are several different types of bank fraud, including:

• wire transfer fraud
• check scams
• Phishing
• account opening fraud

Today, bank fraud often involves the fraudsters impersonating someone else and acting on that person’s behalf. Fraudsters may impersonate customers, corporate executives, and even government officials. If you are being investigated for fraudulent activity you believe may have been perpetrated by someone else, protect yourself by consulting a Florida federal defense attorney who can help you prove your case.

SOUTH FLORIDA MORTGAGE FRAUD CASES

A competitive real estate market in South Florida makes mortgage fraud a common crime in Hialeah and surrounding areas. There are two types of mortgage fraud: fraud for profit and fraud for housing. Both types of mortgage fraud occur in Florida.

Fraud for profit occurs among real estate industry insiders. Agents, brokers, mortgage loan officers, and appraisers sometimes collude to artificially raise the prose on a property. When an interested buyer purchases the property at the inflated price, the insiders who colluded on the scheme slip the illegal profit.

Fraud for housing involves making an intentional misrepresentation on a mortgage loan application. Mortgage applicants who falsify information on their applications commonly provide false information regarding their employment information, income, assets, or other personal information. Some applicants may even apply under a fake name. A common fraud for housing scheme involves investors who use a straw buyer to apply for a mortgage loan. Banks may give more favorable financial terms on a mortgage to buyers who indicate that they intend to use the loan to purchase a property for use as their personal residence. When the straw buyer applies for the loan, he or she misstates the intended use for the loan and the property. After the straw buyer closes on the purchase on the property, the straw buyer immediately transfers the property to the investor.

HIALEAH CREDIT CARD FRAUD CASES

Credit card fraud refers to all types of fraudulent schemes that involve any type of payment card. Therefore, prepaid cards and debit cards are also included. In days past, credit card fraudsters had to physically obtain the victim’s card or a document that contained the victim’s card information to access the victim’s account. For example, credit card fraudsters made use of telemarketing schemes, mail theft, robbery, and burglary to get access to credit cards, statements, and other documents that contained sensitive credit card information.

Today, credit card fraudsters use technology-driven strategies to access customers’ accounts. Phishing schemes target potential victims by sending emails that appear to come from legitimate financial institutions. When the victim clicks on a link in the email to access his or her account, the link takes the victim to a fake website that resembles the bank’s official website. If the victim tries to log in on the website, the fake site collects the victim’s log-in credentials and stores them for the fraudsters to retrieve and use for illegal purposes.

FLORIDA PPP LOAN FRAUD CASES

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government rolled out the Paycheck Protection Program to help businesses cover their payroll expenses. Fraudsters leveraged the urgency of the situation and the authorization for private companies to help with the loan application process as an opportunity to operate lucrative schemes. By the end of the pandemic, the federal government estimated that it had lost billions of dollars to PPP loan fraud. Now that the pandemic is behind us, the federal government has taken up PPP loan fraud investigations and begun prosecuting suspected fraudsters.

Florida Ponzi schemes

Ponzi schemes often take the form of fraudulent investments. The schemer recruits investors with promises of low risk and an exceptionally high rate of return. Instead of investing the investors’ money, the schemer uses the money to fund his or her lifestyle and continues to market the scheme to new victims until he or she is caught.

Federal embezzlement cases

Embezzlement is a variety of theft that involves the existence of a fiduciary relationship. The embezzler uses his or her entrusted position to convert the victim’s property. Examples of embezzlement include:

• a corporate executive who secretly diverts company money into a personal account
• a non-profit leader who keeps donations for personal use
• a government employee who spends taxpayer funds on personal offenses without authorization
• a parking lot owner who hides customers’ cars and sells them in other states

Federal racketeering offense

Federal racketeering cases are prosecuted under the RICO statute of 1970. Congress enacted the statute to allow federal prosecutors to charge members of criminal organizations for the organization’s illegal activities. To establish a racketeering charge, a federal prosecutor must prove:

• the defendant was involved in a criminal enterprise
• the defendant engaged in two or more offenses that meet the federal definition of racketeering activity
• the activity occurred within the federal statute of limitations

Human trafficking in Hialeah

Human trafficking occurs in two main forms: labor trafficking and sex trafficking. Labor trafficking is heavily concentrated in Florida’s immigrant communities. The people who operate labor trafficking schemes often post fake job ads in foreign countries to lure people who are looking to provide for their families or start a new life by working in the United States. The job ad claims to offer a legitimate employment opportunity if the interested party travels to the U.S. The trafficker arranges to meet the victim at a designated location when the victim arrives in the country. At that point, the trafficker transports the victim to another location where the labor trafficking begins.

Sex trafficking is often masked by legal businesses in the sex industry or by voluntary sex work. Traffickers target victims by pretending to have romantic interest in them or by posing as talent agents and managers or people who have authority in the fashion and entertainment industries. The sex trafficker lures the victim by capturing his or her attention and trust through a dating relationship or by pretending to be investing in the victim’s career. When the victim comes to trust the trafficker, he or she transports the victim to a location at which the trafficking begins. Both labor traffickers and sex traffickers use violence, violent threats, and the confiscation of the victim’s money and identity documents to coerce the victims into staying in the trafficking situation. Trafficking victims are also often transported across state lines to unfamiliar locations to make it more difficult for them to leave the situation.

Florida child pornography investigations

Most child pornography in the United States is produced and/or transmitted through digital means, and the materials are often shared across state lines. Therefore, child pornography cases easily become federal cases. Although Florida has tough child pornography laws, the federal laws are even tougher. If you are being investigated for possible involvement with a child pornography case, you should immediately retain an experienced child pornography defense lawyer. We specialize in providing legal defense services in federal and state child pornography cases. Some surprising situations that may lead to child pornography charges include:

• receiving an unsolicited sexual image in a text message from someone who is under 18 years of age
• letting someone borrow your laptop and later finding an illegal image the other party downloaded
• accidentally downloading a virus that accesses and sends a sexual depiction of a minor
• sending a sexual text message to someone you didn’t know was a minor

Child pornography cases are delicate matters. We handle child pornography cases with the necessary level of professional discernment and discretion.

Hialeah federal defense attorney

Contact Joffe Law if you are facing a federal charge in Hialeah. A member of our team will thoroughly review your case to determine the best approach to defending you.