White Collar Crime Lawyer Miami Shores
Experienced criminal defense attorney in your time of need
We see white collar crime all the time in movies, television shows, and on the news. Most portrayals of white collar crime highlight the large amounts of money criminal organizations receive and the lavish lifestyles white collar criminals are often able to live. But a true portrayal of white collar crime must also include the ever-present, looming possibility of going to prison. Miami Shores white collar crime attorney David J. Joffe specializes in handling such cases in Florida. David Joffe has defended people who have been accused of serious white collar offenses for more than 35 years. Contact us if you have been accused of a white collar crime in Miami Shores or a nearby community.
Definition of white collar crime
In the late 1930s, a criminologist coined the term “white collar crime” to describe offenses that were financial in nature and normally perpetrated by corporate and business professionals. Today, white collar criminals come from all types of backgrounds. Most white collar offenses are nonviolent, although there are exceptions when it comes to the manner in which some white collar criminals operate their illegal enterprises.
White collar offenses in Miami Shores
Although South Florida is not a major center for corporate finance, the region sees its share of white collar crime. High rates of drug trafficking and other types of organized crime contribute significantly to white collar crime in the region. Some of the most common white collar cases we see in Miami Shores involve:
- money laundering
- fraud
- Ponzi schemes
- embezzlement
Contact Joffe Law if you have been contacted by a law enforcement agency to do an interview regarding a potential white collar case. Having an attorney present at every interaction with law enforcement will reduce the risk of self-incrimination and infringement on your constitutional rights.
Money laundering activity in Miami Shores
Money laundering is the process criminal organizations use to disguise the illegal activity through which the organization receives financial proceeds. The process occurs in three different stages: placement, layering, and integration. During the placement stage, the criminal organization injects the money into the mainstream money supply. Placement is particularly challenging because conducting transactions with unexplained large sums of money attracts unwanted attention from law enforcement and other criminals. Members of illegal enterprises cannot deposit their illegal proceeds into the bank at one time because banks in the U.S. have threshold limits that trigger further investigation if someone deposits a large sum of money at once. Common placement strategies include:
- placing the money directly into a cash-based business
- bulk cash smuggling
- smurfing or dividing the money into smaller amounts to evade regulatory detection and enlisting several people to each deposit some of the money
- using international wire transfer services to redirect the money to a recipient in another country
Once the money has been placed, the next step in the money laundering process is to layer or conduct a complex series of transactions. The objective is to make it virtually impossible for anyone to trace the money back to its illicit origins. After the layering step, members of the criminal enterprise may use the newly “cleaned” money however they please with minimal concern about anyone being able to follow the path the money took once it was placed into circulation.
Do not say anything that might incriminate you. Speak with an attorney first.
Fraud cases in Miami Shores
Fraud generally describes any intentionally deceptive scheme that is motivated by the desire to gain something that is of value. There are several different types of fraud. Some of the most common types of fraud cases are:
- bank fraud
- wire transfer fraud
- mortgage fraud
- healthcare fraud
MIAMI SHORES BANK FRAUD DEFENSE
Most fraudsters generally want one thing: money. Therefore, it is unsurprising that bank fraud is one of the most common types of white collar schemes. The way in which fraudsters engage in bank fraud has evolved with technology. Some specific types of bank fraud are:
- credit card fraud
- account takeover
- check fraud
- new account fraud
Before most merchants began using modern credit card machines, stores made carbon copies of a customer’s card to capture the payment details. Employees and people who would break into the place of business would steal the carbon copies and use the payment details to conduct transactions with the cardholder’s account. Today, fraudsters steal credit card information through digital means.
Account takeover fraud occurs when someone gains unauthorized access to someone else’s bank account. Fraudsters achieve this by using automated programs that cycle through different passwords in an effort to guess the password that will unlock a victim’s account. Another strategy fraudsters use to get someone else’s financial login credentials is phishing. Fraudsters operate phishing schemes by sending emails that appear to come from a legitimate banking institution. The email will contain a message that is aimed at convincing the recipient that he or she must urgently take action to avoid a problem with his or her bank account. The email will also contain a link to a website that appears to resemble the legitimate homepage of a financial institution. When the email recipient clicks on the link, if he or she is convinced that the website is legitimate, he or she may enter her log-in credentials. Instead of being directed to his or her bank account dashboard, the fraudulent website collects the customer’s log-in credentials. The fraudsters retrieve the stored data and use it to log in and take over the customer’s account.
WIRE TRANSFER FRAUD IN FLORIDA
Wire transfer schemes are generally based on intimidating the victim or causing the victim to be concerned about the safety of someone he or she knows. One version of wire transfer fraud involves taking over social media accounts. First, the fraudster hacks into someone’s social media account. After hacking into the account, the fraudster contacts the hacking victim’s contacts via direct message. In the message, the fraudster impersonates the account owner and pretends to be in an emergency situation that requires the other party to send money fast via wire transfer. The manufactured sense of urgency in these schemes prompts people to send money without first verifying that they are really being contacted by the person who owns the social media account.
Another variety of wire fraud involves the fraudsters pretending to be representatives from the IRS. A fraudster sends an email to a potential victim falsely claiming that the victim owes a payment to the IRS and will risk criminal prosecution or other penalties if they do not immediately pay the false debt.
Wire transfer fraudsters also target potential victims by claiming to be from a local utilities company. The fraudster induces the potential victim by sending an email that claims the potential victim may have his or her service disconnected if he or she does not immediately send payment through an electronic transfer.
SOUTH FLORIDA MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEMES
Mortgage fraud occurs when someone intentionally engages in deception during the mortgage loan process. The fraud may occur on either side of the transaction. There are two main types of mortgage fraud: fraud for profit and fraud for housing.
Fraud for profit refers to a deceptive scheme that involves real estate industry insiders. Mortgage loan officers, real estate agents, and property appraisers sometimes collude to inflate the appraised value of properties and prompt buyers to pay higher asking prices. When the buyer closes on the transaction, the industry insiders who are involved in the scheme divide the illegal profit.
Fraud for housing occurs when someone who is applying for a mortgage loan provides false information with the intent to deceive. Some examples of information mortgage applicants falsify include:
- providing a fictitious name
- misstating employment information
- misstating income information
- misstating assets
Mortgage applicants who falsify information typically do so for the purpose of getting qualified for a loan for which they may not otherwise qualify, getting better terms on a loan, getting approved for a higher loan amount. Real estate investors sometimes engage in mortgage fraud by using a straw buyer. Banks are often more inclined to give better terms on a mortgage loan to applicants who intend to use the property as a personal residence. The straw buyer applies for the mortgage loan and falsely claims that the property will be his or her personal residence. After the straw buyer closes on the transaction, the straw buyer immediately transfers the property to the investor.
HEALTHCARE FRAUD CASES
Healthcare fraud can take many different forms. Depending on the objective of the scheme, the perpetrator may be a healthcare professional, clinic or hospital, patient, pharmaceutical company, or a supplier of a healthcare product.
Medicare fraud is a type of healthcare fraud that is increasing in popularity in South Florida. Fraudsters directly target the Medicare program with the intent to receive an illegal payment from the federal government. Some strategies healthcare providers use to defraud the Medicare program include:
- double billing
- billing for services the healthcare provider never delivered
- unbundling services that should be billed together under one price
- charging more than the assigned price for a service
Federal government agencies investigate Medicare fraud more closely when they notice reporting irregularities. If your company has been contacted for a Medicare fraud audit, a Miami Shores Medicare fraud defense attorney can help you prepare for the audit process.
Defense lawyer for Miami Shores Ponzi schemes
Ponzi schemes are often investment scams that are marketed as the best-kept secret savvy finance professionals only share with the people who are closest to them. Unsuspecting investors entrust their money to the fraudster, who is often a financial professional or at least appears to be one.
The first group of investors receive regular statements that give the appearance of a legitimate investment that is increasing in value at a rate that is substantially higher than average. Early investors may even be able to make withdrawals, which further convinces them that the fake investment product is real. People who feel comfortable with the investment may even advise their friends and family members to invest. Ponzi schemes rely on the scammer’s ability to continue to recruit new investors. Meanwhile, the scammer is using the money for his or her own purposes, often to fund an elaborate lifestyle that the scammer uses to draw new victims. After some time passes, the investors discover that they are no longer able to make withdrawals and that they can no longer contact the scammer. By then, the scammer has typically changed all of his or her shared contact information and left town.
Ponzi schemes sometimes employ people to work in the scammer’s office or to perform other duties that further give the schemer the appearance of legitimacy. The scammer’s employees are not always aware of the crime. Nevertheless, people who work for the scammer may be intensely investigated and even prosecuted if they do not have a strong Florida white collar crimes defense lawyer.
Embezzlement defense in South Florida
Embezzlement is a specific type of theft that leverages the presence of a fiduciary duty between the embezzler and the victim. Ponzi schemes are often embezzlement cases. Some other examples of embezzlement include:
- corporate employees that steal from the company
- a club treasurer who uses the club’s money to make personal purchases
- federal employees misappropriating taxpayer funds
- a parking lot owner converting customers’ cars and selling the cars in other states
If you have been falsely accused of embezzlement, your Florida embezzlement defense lawyer may argue that you believed you were authorized to take or use the other party’s property. A defense attorney may also offer evidence that suggests the defendant intended to return the property to disprove an embezzlement charge.
White collar defense attorney in Miami Shores
Miami Shores residents who are facing a white collar criminal investigation entrust Joffe Law with their legal matters. We have the experience, expertise, and professional resources to defend clients in high-profile white collar criminal cases. To learn more about our white collar crimes defense lawyer in Miami Shores, give us a call. If you need legal representation right away, a member of our team will review your case to see how we can help.