White Collar Crime Attorney Pinecrest

Embezzlement under Florida law

Florida’s statutes do not define the legal offense of embezzlement by name. Instead, embezzlement cases are prosecuted under the state’s theft law. Embezzlement is the legal term for a theft that occurs when someone who owes a fiduciary duty to someone else uses the relationship to steal the other party’s property. The existence of a fiduciary relationship, or position of trust, is the key factor that distinguishes embezzlement from other types of theft. A simple example of embezzlement is a cashier who takes money from the cash register at work and keeps it for personal use. We handle embezzlement cases that involve public figures, corporate executives, and large nonprofit organizations.

Florida bribery laws

Most people become familiar with the concept of bribery from an early age. However, when bribery involves a government official, there may be criminal charges. Florida law defines bribery of a public official as an attempt to give an unauthorized item of value to a public servant in exchange for an act or omission by the public servant. Examples of acts people receive in exchange for bribery include:

• A member of the licensing board approving a restaurant owner’s alcohol license
• A judge ruling in a specified party’s favor
• The police deciding not to pursue an ongoing investigation
• A government agency awards a contract to a particular company
• A federal agency decides against a regulatory action that would be unfavorable to a particular company

In some cases, the exchange of an item of value may appear to be bribery, but there is another legitimate explanation. For example, the parties involved may have a long pre-existing relationship and regularly exchange gifts with no relation to the government official’s position. The public official may have taken an action that did not favor the party who appears to have offered a bribe. The party who offered the item of value may not have known the gift recipient had influence in a decision that affected the person who offered the gift. A Pinecrest white collar crimes defense lawyer can take several approaches to challenging a Florida bribery charge.

Lawyer for Pinecrest money laundering cases

Money laundering is a process virtually every criminal organization uses to disguise the illegal origins of the proceeds of their criminal activity. Through a multi-step process, money launderers conduct numerous transactions to confuse anyone who may try to follow the paper trail to discover how the money came into the hands of the members of the criminal organization.

PLACEMENT

The first step in the money laundering process is known as the placement stage. Money launderers are most vulnerable during the placement stage because they are tasked with finding a way to place the money into the mainstream money supply without being caught. Some tactics money launderers use to place money into the mainstream supply include:

• bulk cash smuggling
• smurfing
• Ffunneling money into a cash-based business
• using money transfers

Bulk cash smuggling occurs when a money mule carries cash from one country into another country where the banking laws are less rigid. Criminal organizations often target immigrant communities to recruit people to transport large amounts of cash across an international border and to deliver the cash or deposit it into a designated account. People become cash mules for extra income; however, they may not always understand the potential legal consequences of helping a money launderer. Individuals who work as cash mules for money launders may be charged under Florida’s money laundering statute and under federal law. Under Florida law, laundering between $300 and $20,000 is a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Cases that involve more than $20,000 carry longer prison terms and the potential for the defendant being ordered to pay substantial fines.

Smurfs are individuals or groups of people who make small bank transactions on behalf of money launderers. The act of smurfing involves dividing the proceeds of illegal activity into smaller amounts and distributing the amounts to smurfs, who make deposits into different financial accounts. The purpose of smurfing is to divide dirty money into deposit amounts that are small enough to avoid triggering red flags in the banking system.

Criminal organizations and their associates often own cash-based businesses that are helpful to the money laundering process. When members of criminal organizations receive proceeds from their illegal activity, they invest the money into the cash-based business to conceal the placement of the money into the mainstream money supply. Once the dirty money is co-mingled into the business’ cash flow, the dirty money can be removed and moved to the next step in the laundering process. Some common examples of cash businesses criminal enterprises, their friends, relatives, and associates operate include:

• restaurants
• laundromats
• casinos
• strip clubs
• car washes
• convenience stores

Money transfers, currency exchanges, and remittance services are also commonly used by money launderers to move money into other countries. Oftentimes, money transfer businesses exist in immigrant communities to help community members conduct transactions and send money to relatives in their home country. Businesses that provide these services are sometimes targeted by money launderers as unsuspecting participants in their illegal activity. In other cases, the businesses knowingly work with criminal organizations and may even be owned by an associate of a criminal organization.

LAYERING

Once the criminal organization has placed money into the mainstream money supply, the next step in the laundering process is to use the money to complete a series of complex transactions. The transactions create a complex path of movement to distance the money from its illegal origins. Some strategies criminal organizations use to layer transactions include:

• buying and selling real estate
• purchasing fine art
• purchasing high-end recreational vehicles
• trading stocks
• trading cryptocurrencies
• starting new businesses

INTEGRATION

The final stage in the money laundering process is integration. By the time dirty money reaches the integration stage, it is virtually impossible to distinguish the laundered money from income members of the criminal organization may have received from legitimate means. At this point, the money launderers are able to use the criminal proceeds in whatever manner they please and generally avoid detection.

Racketeering defense in South Florida

Racketeering cases draw the media spotlight with tales of elaborate financial schemes and organized crime. Similar to the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act of 1970, Florida has its own RICO Act. Although Florida’s RICO statute mostly mirrors the federal version, there are some key differences. Florida’s racketeering law allows prosecutors to charge members of entire criminal organizations simultaneously. There are also provisions in Florida’s RICO statute that specifically address crimes that involve exploiting seniors. An individual may be charged with racketeering in Pinecrest under state law if he or she is a member of a criminal enterprise and engages in two or more criminal acts the state categorizes as “racketeering activity.” The state RICO statute includes a comprehensive list of racketeering activities that includes most crimes in Florida’s criminal code. The prosecutor must prove the racketeering activities were related to the criminal enterprise and took place within five years, which is the state’s statute of limitations on RICO offenses.

David Joffe understands the ins and outs of federal and state RICO cases. If you are being investigated for racketeering, Joffe Law is qualified to represent you. Our team of legal professionals are prepared to help you understand the legal implications of the charges you are facing. We will help you make informed decisions when evaluating your potential legal options.

South Florida’s premier white collar crimes defense law firm

If you are facing criminal prosecution for a white collar offense, you need a Pinecrest defense attorney who has specialized experience. Our Florida criminal defense attorney’s strategies have proven effective in white collar cases in the past, and we continue to provide highly effective legal counsel throughout South Florida.

We understand the need for discretion when working with high profile figures, and we will work diligently to protect your privacy whenever possible. We provide legal representation from the investigative stage and at every step in the criminal court process. Call Joffe Law today to receive a confidential case evaluation.