White Collar Crime Lawyer Southwest Ranches

Southwest Ranches fraud cases

Fraud is a general term that refers to the act of intentionally making a misrepresentation with the intent to obtain something of value. Most fraudsters’ objective is to obtain money. Some conduct fraudulent schemes to receive goods, services, or property. Common types of fraud include:

• Bank fraud
• Mortgage fraud
• Mail and wire fraud

FLORIDA BANK FRAUD

Bank fraud is any deceptive scheme that involves a financial institution, which includes but is not limited to credit unions, and trust companies. In bank fraud cases, the victim may be the financial institution, a business of any size, or a bank customer. There are several different types of bank fraud, including:

• credit card fraud
• account takeover
• card skimming
• wire transfer fraud

Credit card fraud is known more formally as payment card fraud, which includes other types of cards such as debit cards and prepaid cards. In the early days of credit cards, thieves utilized more traditional means of obtaining unauthorized access to customers’ cards. Credit card fraudsters would steal financial statements from potential victims’ mailboxes, steal purses and wallets and use the victims’ credit cards, or burglarize places of business and steal receipts and other documents that contained customers’ credit card information. Today, credit cards are processed digitally, and fraudsters are increasingly using digital means to access victims’ credit card data.

Account takeover can happen in other sectors, but it occurs frequently in banking. Fraudsters steal banking customers’ information by employing other types of schemes like phishing, hacking, or telemarketing scams. Phishing occurs when fraudsters create a fake website that resembles a legitimate financial institution’s website and induce potential victims to unknowingly provide their banking log-in credentials by luring the victim to log into the fake website via a fraudulent link. Once the fraudster is able to access the victim’s account, the fraudster can order new credit cards or make fraudulent transactions, such as funds transfers, purchases, changing the PIN number, and withdrawing cash.

Card skimming schemes typically target relatively unattended ATMs and external payment terminals at gas stations. Fraudsters favor unattended machines because they are better able to outfit the machines’ card readers with a fake device that allows the customer to swipe his or her card. When the customer swipes his or her card, the fake card reader collects the customer’s information from the payment card. Later the fraudsters retrieve the customer’s information and use it for illegal purposes.

Wire transfer fraud usually begins with a story that plays on the victim’s sympathy or sense of urgency to meet a financial obligation. Fraudsters pose as the potential victim’s loved one or a government entity like the IRS or a utility company. When the fraudster makes contact–through social media if the scheme involves impersonating a loved one or through email, phone, or text message if the scheme involves pretending to be calling from a government or business–he or she tells the potential victim a fictitious story that is aimed at causing the victim to make a wire transfer without stopping and taking time to think. Common stories involve pretending to be a loved one who needs money to resolve an emergency while traveling or a business or government entity that is requesting a wire transfer to settle a past due bill.

Southwest Ranches mortgage fraud cases

Florida has no shortage of competitive real estate markets. Fraudsters are always looking for ways to capitalize on lucrative real estate deals. There are two main types of mortgage fraud: fraud for housing and fraud for profit. Fraud for housing occurs when someone who is applying for a mortgage loan makes an intentional misrepresentation. Mortgage applicants who engage in fraud most often falsify:

• the name they use on the application
• their income
• their employment
• their assets
• other personal data

The motivation behind fraud for housing is most often to obtain a better interest rate, to qualify for a larger loan, or to obtain a loan for which the applicant may not qualify under ordinary conditions. In some instances, investors use straw buyers to get more favorable terms on a loan for an investment property. The straw buyer misrepresents his or her intent to use the property for residential purposes when applying for a mortgage. Banks are more likely to extend more favorable terms to applicants who indicate that they will be using the property as a personal residence. When the straw buyer closes on the transaction, he or she immediately transfers the property to the investor.

Fraud for profit is typically a scheme that involves collusion among real estate professionals. Real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and property appraisers sometimes work together to artificially inflate the value of properties with the intent of receiving an illegal profit when the property sells. Fraud for profit schemes affect real estate buyers by fraudulently driving up the cost of residential and commercial properties.

SOUTHWEST RANCHES MAIL AND WIRE FRAUD CHARGES

Mail and wire fraud charges often appear in other white collar cases. Mail fraud was originally enacted to penalize the use of a postal service in advancing a fraudulent scheme. Prosecutors charge mail fraud as a single offense, and they charge it in addition to other white collar cases that include any amount of correspondence by mail. Not only can defendants be convicted for mail fraud if they use the U.S. Postal Service, but the statute includes private postal carriers like FedEx, UPS, and DHL.

The wire fraud statute was enacted as a follow-up to the mail fraud statute for the purpose of allowing prosecutors to charge defendants who use wired means of communication when operating a fraudulent scheme. A defendant may be convicted for wire fraud if he or she uses any of the following for to communicate with anyone while engaging in fraud:

• telephone
• Fax
• email
• social media
• text message
• instant messaging
• the Internet

Mail fraud and wire fraud are often mentioned in the same sentence because the two offenses are similar. Wire fraud is a federal offense. Florida also has its own version of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes that is consolidated into one offense that is known as communications fraud. Penalties for Florida fraud cases are based on the value of the property the defendant received through the fraudulent scheme or intended to receive through a scheme to defraud.

Embezzlement under federal and state law

Embezzlement is a legal term for a very specific variety of theft. In embezzlement cases, the defendant is in a trusted position, and he or she uses the position of trust to take property that belongs to the victim and deprive the victim of his or her enjoyment of the property. The trust between the embezzler and the victim most often arises out of an employment relationship or an arrangement in which the embezzler is changed with monitoring or managing the victim’s property. Some examples of embezzlement include:

• a mechanic who steals his customers’ cars
• an estate attorney who forges signatures to transfer deeds to his clients’ properties into his own name
• a government official who uses taxpayer money to fund his or her personal expenses without authorization

Florida does not have a separate embezzlement statute. Instead, the state prosecutes embezzlement cases under the state’s general theft statute. The severity of sentencing for Florida embezzlement cases depends on the value of the property the defendant is convicted for converting.

Public corruption cases in Southwest Ranches

Public corruption cases involve the bribery of or the intent to bribe a government worker or political official. An individual may be convicted for public corruption if he or she offers a bribe to a public figure something of value in exchange for the public official to take a specific action or inaction. Public officials who solicit or accept bribes may also be convicted under state and federal public corruption statutes.

Florida racketeering defense

Racketeering is an offense that grips media headlines when a story breaks. Congress enacted the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act of 1970 to allow U.S. Attorneys to prosecute people who are affiliated with criminal enterprises. Florida was one of the earliest states to follow up by enacting its own RICO statute. The state racketeering law is especially aggressive as it allows prosecutors to charge entire criminal organizations at once instead of focusing on each member individually. Examples of criminal enterprises include:

• illegal gambling rings
• prostitution rings
• extortion rings
• illegal drug organizations
• identity theft rings
• counterfeiting operations

To establish a racketeering case under state or federal law, prosecutors must prove the defendant is part of a criminal enterprise and that the defendant has engaged in at least two offenses that meet the definition of racketeering activity. Federal law and Florida’s racketeering statute list offenses that qualify as racketeering activity a prosecutor may use to establish a racketeering charge. The offenses must be related to the criminal enterprise and must have occurred in close proximity to each other and within the statute of limitations. Because fraudulent schemes in Florida often target elderly people, crimes against members of the state’s elderly population qualify as racketeering activity.

Southwest Ranches white collar crime defense lawyer

In white collar criminal cases, people who are in close proximity to criminal enterprises may also be investigated by the federal and state government. If you believe you may have been involved with white collar criminal activity, the first step toward protecting yourself is to consult a Florida white collar crimes defense lawyer. Florida residents trust Joffe Law for their legal defense in white collar criminal cases. We handle high profile cases and local legal matters that may affect your personal and professional reputation. To learn more about our strong performance in state and federal white collar crimes cases, give us a call. If you are looking for legal representation for a pending case, a member of our team will review your case to evaluate your legal options.