Miami Shores Federal Defense Lawyer

White collar crimes defense in Miami Shores

South Florida is the perfect setting for many white collar criminals. Criminal enterprises disguise their criminal proceeds by laundering money in affluent communities and hot real estate markets. The state’s hot real estate markets are attractive to fraudulent real estate insiders and others who are looking to conduct schemes to defraud. Many Florida white collar criminal schemes target the state’s large elderly population. Some of the most common federal white collar offenses we see in Miami Shores and surrounding areas include:

• fraud
• embezzlement
• money laundering
• racketeering

MIAMI SHORES FRAUD CASES

Fraud is a broad legal term that refers to any deceptive scheme someone operates for the purpose of obtaining money or anything else that is of value. Fraud has existed for as long as people have been buying, selling, and trading goods and services. However, the strategies fraudsters use to operate their schemes continue to increase in sophistication with advancements in technology. Some common types of fraud we see in South Florida are:

• bank fraud
• mortgage fraud
• wire transfer fraud
• credit card fraud

Bank fraud refers to any deceptive scheme that involves any type of financial institution, including trust companies and credit unions. Some types of bank fraud target financial institutions while others victimize everyday consumers, and businesses of all sizes. Bank fraud often takes the form of:

• account takeover
• check fraud
• investment fraud
• ACH fraud

In most cases, bank fraud is automatically a federal offense. Deposits at most banks are insured by the FDIC, which is a federal government agency.

Mortgage applicants and real estate insiders may be implicated in mortgage fraud schemes. Applicants engage in a type of mortgage fraud that is known as fraud for housing, which typically involves an applicant supplying false information on a mortgage loan application. Mortgage applicants who supply false information most often misrepresent their name or other personal details, employment information, or assets. The goal of fraud for housing is usually to obtain a better rate on a mortgage, get approved for a mortgage, or get approved for a larger mortgage loan on a residential property. Investors sometimes use straw buyers to get access to more favorable terms on a mortgage loan. The straw buyer misrepresents his or her intention of using the property on a loan application as a personal residence to obtain more favorable financing from the bank. When the straw buyer closes on the property, the straw buyer immediately transfers the property to the investor.

Fraud for profit occurs when real estate professionals misrepresent information during the mortgage loan process with the intent to receive an illegal profit. These schemes often involve real estate professionals colluding to falsely increase the asking price for a property before selling it to a buyer.

Wire transfer fraud often begins with a social media account takeover although it can also happen through email, text message, or over the phone. The fraudster impersonates someone who would have a valid reason to request an urgent wire transfer from the potential victim. When the fraudster hacks someone else’s social media account, the fraudster pretends to be the account holder and reaches out to people who are connected to the account holder. Fraudsters commonly pretend the social media account holder is in a foreign country on vacation and is reaching out to a friend or family member through social media to request a wire transfer to solve an emergency situation. When posing as a service provider, the fraudster may pretend to be calling from the IRS or from the potential victim’s utility company and request payment for a past due account.

Also known as payment card fraud, credit card fraud refers to any deceptive scheme that involves a payment card, whether the card is of the debit, credit, or prepaid variety. In the early days of credit cards, thieves gained access to victims’ credit cards through physical card theft, mail theft, or by burglarizing businesses and taking credit card carbon copies and receipts. Today, credit card fraudsters do not need to get access to the physical card to access the account without the cardholder’s authorization. Instead, credit card fraudsters use technology-based strategies like skimming, phishing, and hacking to access cardholders’ sensitive card data and personal information.

Embezzlement cases in Miami Shores

Embezzlement cases are a very specific type of theft cases. An individual may be accused of embezzlement if he or she is in a trusted position and uses that position to deprive the victim of the victim’s property. An embezzlement offense requires the prosecution to prove the defendant owed the victim a fiduciary duty. Examples of situations that would likely result in federal embezzlement charges include:

• a corporate director diverting company assets into a personal offshore bank account
• a federal agency director who uses program funds for person use without authorization
• a valet worker who steals customers’ vehicles and sells them in another state
• a salesperson who converts company property and resells it across state lines for less

A defense attorney may challenge an embezzlement charge by proving the defendant acted in good faith under the belief that he or she was authorized to take the property. The court also may not convict a defendant for embezzlement if the defendant returned the property to its rightful owner in its original condition.

Florida money laundering defense

Every criminal organization has to decide how it will launder the money it receives from illegal activity. Otherwise, getting caught is much more likely. Depositing large unexplained amounts of money into the bank triggers regulatory alerts that lead to more questions. Spending large sums of cash around town attracts unwanted attention from law enforcement and from other criminals. The money laundering process allows criminal organizations to funnel the money into different vehicles and obscure the illegal origins of the money in the process. Some transactions illegal enterprises use to launder money are:

• placing the money into cash-based businesses
• gambling
• using international wire transfer services to transfer the money into other countries
• smuggling large sums of cash into other countries that have less strict banking regulations
• purchasing real estate
• purchasing cryptocurrency
• trading stocks
• purchasing high-end art
• purchasing luxury recreational vehicles

Sometimes, people who conduct business with money launderers may find themselves under federal investigation despite not having any knowledge of the criminal activity. If the federal government or any other law enforcement agency has requested an interview with you to discuss a money laundering case, consult a Miami Shores federal defense lawyer before speaking with a law enforcement agency.

Federal racketeering cases

Congress enacted the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act of 1970 to combat organized crime. The thought of racketeering makes most people think of mafia movies, but in reality, any member of any type of criminal organization may be charged with the offense. An individual may be convicted on a charge of racketeering under federal law if he or she is part of a criminal enterprise and has engaged in a pattern of racketeering. Florida was among the first of many states to follow suit with the federal government and enact its own racketeering statute. Therefore, in addition to being charged under the federal racketeering statute, members of a criminal enterprise may also be charged with racketeering. Florida’s racketeering statute is even more aggressive than the federal law as state prosecutors may charge entire criminal enterprises at once instead of taking the time to focus on each member of the enterprise individually.

The state and federal RICO laws include a list of offenses that meet the definition of racketeering activity. Along with proving the defendant engaged in at least one criminal offense that is included in the racketeering statute, the prosecutor must prove the defendant committed at least two other offenses that meet the definition of racketeering activity. The prosecutor must also prove the two crimes are related, whether the offenses share a common victim, common methods, common participants, or are continuous. The offenses are also required to have taken place within the federal government’s four-year statute of limitations that applies to criminal RICO cases.

Racketeering charges may be challenging to prove even if the defendant has committed other crimes that create the appearance of racketeering. Among many legal defenses an attorney may argue, a Miami Shores defense attorney may argue the crimes are not related or that the defendant does not have a relationship with a criminal enterprise.

Miami Shores federal defense attorney

Most people understand some aspect of the magnitude of a federal criminal charge. With a conviction rate that exceeds 90 percent, it is understandable that some people might feel intimidated if charged with a federal crime. We understand the federal criminal process thoroughly. Our team will leverage our experience and professional resources to improve the likelihood of you winning your case to the best of our ability. To learn more about our strong performance in federal court, contact Joffe Law today. If you are looking for a federal attorney for your Miami Shores legal case, a member of our team will follow up with you to conduct a case evaluation.