Boca Raton White Collar Crimes Defense Attorney
Local criminal lawyer defending tough federal and state charges
White collar crimes dominate the headlines with sensational tales of corporate theft, public corruption, and even organized crime. Although these crimes are generally nonviolent offenses, defendants who are convicted on a white collar charge may be sentenced to prison and ordered to pay hefty fines. Joffe Law represents white collar criminal defendants in Boca Raton and surrounding areas. If you are under criminal investigation for a white collar offense, call David Joffe to learn how we can help.
Common white collar crimes in Boca Raton
Most white collar offenses involve the operation of a deceptive scheme for monetary gain. Depending on the details of a case, the defendant may face one or more state and federal white collar criminal charges. Common examples of white collar crimes in Florida include:
- fraud
- racketeering
- money laundering
- embezzlement
We represent criminal court defendants in a broad variety of Boca Raton white collar criminal cases. Our team is available to discuss potential legal options if you have been charged with a white collar offense in Florida.
FRAUD CHARGES
Fraud is the umbrella term legal professionals use to describe an act of deception. Scammers defraud businesses, the government, financial institutions, and other everyday people to gain access to money, credit, property, and other goods. The federal fraud statute is more comprehensive and detailed while the wording of Florida’s criminal fraud law is comparatively more general. The team at Joffe Law is well-versed in the state and federal criminal fraud statutes.
Florida law formally refers to fraud as a Scheme to Defraud. An individual may be charged under the Scheme to Defraud statute if he or she:
- engages in a systematic, ongoing course of conduct
- has the intent to defraud or obtain property from one or more people
- uses false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises, or willful misrepresentations of a future act
State fraud cases are classified into two major categories: organized fraud and communications fraud. Both offenses can damage a defendant’s reputation. Communications fraud is penalized more severely than organized fraud.
Organized fraud occurs when an individual receives property through a scheme to defraud. The penalty for organized fraud increases based on the value of the property involved. Organized Fraud of $50,000 or more is a First Degree Felony. If convicted, a defendant may be sentenced to 30 years in prison, 30 years on probation, up to $10,000 in fines, or any combination thereof.
If a defendant is convicted on a charge of Organized Fraud of $20,000 to $50,000, he or she may be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison, up to 15 years on probation, and/or a fine of up to $10,000. In fraud cases that involve property that has a value of less than $20,000, a Florida judge may sentence the defendant to a maximum of five years in prison, five years on probation, or a maximum fine of $5,000.
In organized fraud cases, courts may sentence convicted defendants for each instance of communication. Therefore, a defendant who sent multiple messages or contacted a large audience, the defendant can potentially receive a separate sentence for each message, letter, phone call, or other communication effort made by the defendant. If the defendant received property worth less than $300 through the fraudulent scheme, the defendant may be charged with a First Degree Misdemeanor. If convicted, a state court judge may impose a sentence of up to one year in jail, one year on probation, or up to $500 in fines. Communications fraud cases that involve property that is valued at $300 or more are Third Degree Felony cases punishable by up to five years in prison, five years on probation, or a fine of up to $5,000.
Because defendants may be charged for each separate communication they send to a victim or potential victim, the sentences may add up to substantial fines and a lengthy stint in jail or prison. State law does not require the prosecutor to prove the defendant actually acquired property through the fraudulent scheme. The intent to acquire money or property through fraud is generally sufficient evidence to prove a Scheme to Defraud charge.
Do not say anything that might incriminate you. Speak with an attorney first.
RACKETEERING CHARGES
Florida’s racketeering statute mostly mirrors the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Statute of 1970 enacted by Congress. However, Florida’s RICO law allows prosecutors to prosecute an entire enterprise at once. Florida’s statute also specifies that a criminal gang is an illegal enterprise. The state RICO Act also allows prosecutors to add historic convictions to new crimes.
To establish the case for a RICO conviction, prosecutors must establish the existence of a criminal enterprise and prove that the defendant engaged in individual predicate criminal acts to further the enterprise. The state RICO Act provides an extensive list of crimes that qualify as predicate acts to support a RICO conviction in state court.
It is also illegal for anyone to directly or indirectly use or invest proceeds received with criminal intent or derived from racketeering activity. Florida law also prohibits the collection of debt that arises from criminal activity.
People who are employed by a criminal enterprise may also face criminal charges in state court. Some criminal enterprises operate restaurants, massage parlors, automotive shops, and a variety of other small businesses. If you believe you may have unknowingly participated in a criminal enterprise, contact a Boca Raton criminal defense attorney immediately. Your employer may be under investigation by state and federal lawsuit. When law enforcement officials conduct a raid, they often detain everyone onsite for questioning. Requesting to have a Boca Raton federal crime defense lawyer present can help you avoid unnecessarily incriminating yourself.
MONEY LAUNDERING
When a criminal organization generates illegal proceeds, members of the organization have to “clean” their dirty money to minimize the risk of detection by law enforcement. Making large, unexplained bank deposits with no verifiable employment is likely to trigger the bank’s internal security alerts. Banks are also required to report certain information to the federal government when a customer deposits a substantial sum of money at once. Spending large amounts of cash also draws unwanted attention from other criminals and from investigators. Money laundering is the solution to a criminal organization’s dirty money problem.
Money laundering is a multi-stage process that creates the appearance that members of an illegal organization have made their money legitimately. Each stage in the laundering process makes it increasingly difficult to trace the illegal money back to its criminal origins.
The first stage of the money laundering process is the placement stage. Criminal proceeds are most vulnerable to detection during the placement stage. During the placement stage, criminal organizations introduce their illegal proceeds into the money supply.
Launderers sometimes engage in cash smuggling operations to avoid banking regulations. Friends, relatives, and members of immigrant communities are commonly targeted for working as mules for money launderers. Criminals offer immigrants an opportunity to make extra money by transporting cash into another country. Bulk cash smuggling is a crime under the federal Banking Secrecy Act, which makes it illegal to smuggle more than 10,000 across an international border. Bulk cash smuggling is more common in border-adjacent towns, but it can happen anywhere. Florida’s extensive coastline and relatively close proximity to Caribbean countries make the state a prime location for cash smuggling.
In some cases, money launderers use “smurfing” to make more discrete deposits at domestic banks. The term “smurf” refers to an individual or group of individuals who break down the proceeds from illegal activity. Smurfing involves depositing the smaller sums into several different banking institutions with the intent to remain below the minimum reporting threshold. Banks are required to report cash deposits that exceed the minimum threshold to federal regulatory agencies that may investigate the party that makes the large deposit. People who engage in smurfing may be prosecuted in federal court.
Structuring is a placement strategy that is similar to smurfing. Unlike smurfing, structuring involves only one person who makes several small deposits into different bank accounts to avoid detection. Like smurfing, structuring is also a serious financial crime.
During the layering stage, the second step in the money laundering process, money launderers conduct a series of transactions to obscure the connection between the illegal activity and the criminal proceeds. These transactions might include:
- trading stock
- purchasing real estate
- purchasing recreational vehicles
- transferring money in and out of bank accounts across multiple jurisdictions
- using digital currency
Money launderers also use shell companies to introduce illegal proceeds into the mainstream money supply. Shell companies generally serve no purpose other than masking the origin of a criminal organization’s illegal proceeds. These companies tend to be cash businesses like car washes, casinos, shops, and restaurants.
The third and final stage in the money laundering process is integration. By the time money reaches the integration stage, criminal organizations can use it however they want because the money appears to come from a legitimate source. Tracing the money back to criminal activity is nearly impossible because the proceeds have been through numerous transactions that traverse different jurisdictions.
EMBEZZLEMENT
Embezzlement can be as simple as a sales representative taking company merchandise without authorization and reselling it or as complex as government officials funneling tax dollars into their personal accounts. Unlike the federal government, Florida does not have a statute that specifically addresses embezzlement. Instead, embezzlement cases are prosecuted under the state’s laws against theft.
Although state level embezzlement offenses are charged as theft in Florida, there are important differences between theft and embezzlement. Theft is the unlawful taking of something of value. Embezzlement occurs when someone takes property from a party to whom the individual owes a fiduciary duty or a level of professional trust. In federal embezzlement cases, prosecutors must prove the defendant owed the victim a fiduciary duty. Examples of relationships that meet the requirement are:
- financial planners and their clients
- employees and their employers
- an automotive garage owner and his customers
- insurance agents and their customers
Florida’s theft laws classify theft of money or goods that are valued under $300 as a misdemeanor. Therefore, embezzling small amounts of money up to $299 or items that have the same value is likely to be punished by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. However, if an embezzlement case involves $300 or more, the defendant may be charged with a felony.
Embezzling $300 or more but less than $20,000 is a third-degree felony in Florida. If convicted, the defendant may be sentenced to up to five years in state prison and fined up to $5,000. If the embezzled amount is at least $20,000 but less than $100,000, the defendant may be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison and ordered to pay a maximum fine of $10,000. Cases that involve more than $100,000 are the most severe state level embezzlement cases in Florida. Defendants who are convicted for stealing or embezzling more than $100,000 may be sentenced to up to 30 years in state prison and fined up to $10,000.
White collar charges lawyer in Boca Raton
In addition to representing defendants in state white collar cases, we also represent Boca Raton white collar defendants in federal court. Our team has the professional training, experience, and resources to take on federal cases. Federal criminal charges require specialized legal representation. Not only are federal cases adjudicated by very experienced federal judges, but U.S. Attorneys who prosecute federal crimes are among the toughest prosecutors in the nation. David Joffe will rise to the occasion and defend your rights at every stage in the criminal court process.
Whether you are under investigation or if you have been criminally charged for a white collar crime in Boca Raton, contact Joffe Law, P.A. to receive a case evaluation. Once retained, we will review the facts of your case and determine the best approach to representing you.
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