Wynwood White Collar Crime Attorney
Potent defense for state & federal criminal white collar charges
White collar offenses receive a glamorous portrayal in movies and documentaries. But the aftermath of getting caught in a white collar scheme is never glamorous. People who are convicted for white collar offenses face steep prison sentences and are often ordered to pay their criminal proceeds back in the form of court fines and restitution to their victims. Moreover, white collar criminal organizations sometimes cast a very wide net. They often work with other people and organizations in operating their schemes. People who have very loose associations with white collar criminal organizations may be thoroughly investigated and charged even if they were not directly involved in criminal activity. A Wynwood white collar crime lawyer from Joffe Law, P.A. can represent individuals who have been implicated in state or federal criminal cases.
History of white collar crimes
The term “white collar crime” was coined by a criminologist in the 1930s to describe offenses that are most often committed by corporate professionals and government officials. The term “white collar” refers to the collared shirts the people who commit white collar offenses typically wear as part of their occupational wardrobe. Today, anyone from any walk of life may be involved in a white collar scheme. White collar crimes are mostly non-violent offenses that are motivated by the gain of money, property, or anything else that is of value to the criminal.
White collar crimes in South Florida
South Florida is the perfect backdrop for white collar criminals in many ways. Florida’s location is strategically advantageous for drug trafficking organizations. Hot real estate markets are attractive to money launderers and fraudsters. Criminals also, unfortunately, prey on the state’s sizable population of seniors and retirees. Some of the most common white collar offenses we see in South Florida include:
- fraud
- money laundering
- Ponzi schemes
- embezzlement
Contact us if you are under investigation or if you have been charged with a white collar offense. Our seasoned Wynwood white collar crimes defense lawyer hands state and federal white collar cases.
Fraud offenses in Wynwood FL
Fraud is a general term for the fraudulent schemes criminals operate with the objective of illegally obtaining something of value. Fraud has been around for as long as people have been buying, selling, and trading goods and services. Some examples of different types of fraud are:
- bank fraud
- mortgage fraud
- healthcare fraud
- identity theft
WYNWOOD BANK FRAUD CASES
Any type of fraud that involves a financial institution is categorized as bank fraud. Therefore, fraudulent schemes that target credit unions, trust companies, and credit card companies may all be described colloquially as bank fraud although the more technical term is financial institution fraud. Depending on the type of scheme, victims of bank fraud may be the customers, businesses, or the financial institutions themselves. Bank fraud may occur in the form of:
- credit card fraud
- wire transfer fraud
- account takeover
- card skimming
Credit card fraud also includes fraudulent schemes that involve any type of payment card, including debit cards, ATM cards, and prepaid cards. More traditional methods of credit card fraud required thieves to physically obtain the credit card information or the card itself. Before credit cards were accepted more widely and digitally, thieves would obtain credit card information by stealing card statements from victims’ mailboxes or taking credit cards from stolen purses and wallets. Stores processed credit cards by making a carbon copy imprint of the card information. Employees or people who burglarized the store would steal the carbon copies and use the customers’ credit card information to conduct fraudulent transactions with customers’ accounts.
Most wire fraud cases involve people who pose as someone the victim knows personally or an entity that provides a service to the victim. The fraudster invents a false sense of urgency that is likely to induce the victim to respond without verifying the source. Fraudsters often pretend to be the IRS, a utility company, or a loved one. When posing as a service provider or the IRS, the fraudster tells the potential victim that he or she will be subjected to criminal charges or that his or her utilities will be disconnected if he or she does not send the fraudster a wire payment. When pretending to be a loved one, the fraudster will typically make up a story about being stranded while traveling or having another emergency that requires a wire transfer to pay an immediate expense. Fraudsters mainly target potential victims through email or by hacking into a loved one’s social media account.
Do not say anything that might incriminate you. Speak with a lawyer first.
Account transfer happens to banking customers, but it can also occur in corporate settings and on social media. Within the context of banking, fraudsters access customers’ log-in information through phishing or by using programs that break into victims’ accounts by trying different log-in credentials. Phishing schemes involve fraudsters sending emails to potential victims with the intent to induce the victim to try to log into a fake bank website. The email will typically tell the potential victim to log in to receive important information or to pay an urgent bill by clicking on an enclosed link. The link directs the victim to a fake website that resembles a legitimate banking website. When the victim logs into the fake website, the website captures the victim’s log-in credentials, which the fraudsters can retrieve and use to log into the bank’s real website.
Card skimming most often occurs at outdoor ATMs and gas stations that allow customers to pay at the pump. Fraudsters alter unmonitored ATMs and card readers by outfitting the machines with their own card readers. When a customer uses the compromised machine, the altered card reader captures the victim’s credit card information. Later, the fraudsters retrieve the information and use it for an illegal purpose.
MORTGAGE FRAUD CHARGES
Mortgage fraud refers to any deceptive act that occurs during the process of applying for a mortgage loan. Real estate agents, brokers, mortgage loan officers, mortgage applicants, and appraisers may all be perpetrators in mortgage fraud schemes. There are two types of mortgage fraud: fraud for profit and fraud for housing.
Fraud for profit occurs when real estate professionals conduct a fraudulent scheme. A common fraud for profit scheme involves real estate agents, property appraisers, and mortgage loan officers working together to inflate the value of a property. When a buyer makes an offer based on the inflated value, the mortgage loan officer approves the loan. After the buyer closes on the purchase, the real estate professionals split the illegal profit.
Fraud for housing occurs when someone provides false information on a mortgage loan application for the purpose of obtaining a residential property. Common information people falsify when applying for a mortgage includes:
- the applicant’s name or other identifying information
- the applicant’s employment information
- the applicant’s income
- the applicant’s assets
Mortgage applicants provide false information with the objective of getting approved for a loan for which the applicant may not otherwise qualify, getting a better interest rate, or getting approved for a larger loan. Some investors use a straw buyer to apply for a mortgage if the bank will offer better financing terms to a buyer who will be using the property as a personal residence. The straw buyer applies for the loan, and when the buyer closes on the contract, the straw buyer immediately transfers the property to the investor.
HEALTHCARE/MEDICARE FRAUD
Healthcare fraud takes many different forms. Some fraudulent schemes target the insurance companies and the government while others target customers. Medicare fraud is big business in Florida because the state has one of the largest senior populations in the U.S. Healthcare service providers defraud the Medicare system by using the following tactics:
- upcoding: charging the Medicare program more than the correct price for services rendered
- phantom billing: charging Medicare for services the medical practice has not rendered
- double billing: billing twice for a single service or procedure the medical practice provided to a patient
- unbundling: billing for each part of a service or procedure that would normally be billed all together as a single service
Regulatory agencies detect healthcare fraud when they observe reporting irregularities or by conducting an audit. A Wynwood healthcare fraud defense attorney can help you limit your criminal exposure if you have been contacted with notice of an upcoming audit.
Wynwood FL Ponzi schemes
Ponzi schemes are often pitched as investment opportunities that are too good to pass up. Fraudsters who operate Ponzi schemes are often financial professionals, or they have the appearance of financial success because they appear to live luxurious lifestyles. The fraudster will pitch the fake investment opportunity as the best-kept secret in the finance industry. Telltale signs of Ponzi schemes are unusually high rates of return and a very low level of risk. Victims entrust the fraudster to invest their money; however, the investment product is fake. Instead of investing the victims’ money, the fraudster uses the money to fund his or her lavish lifestyle and attract new victims to the scheme. Early investors receive statements and are able to make withdrawals to create the impression that they are actually making a profit. Creating the false sense of receiving real statements and having access to their money builds a sense of trust in the early investors that makes them more likely to recruit more victims to join the scheme. Eventually, the victims realize they are no longer able to contact the fraudster or to access their money. By then, the fraudster has typically left town and disconnected his or her phone number and other methods of contact.
Fraudsters who operate Ponzi schemes may maintain an office and hire people who work in the office. The employees are often unaware of the extent of their employer’s criminal activity. Nevertheless, if the police conduct a raid on the office, anyone who appears to have an affiliation with the fraudster may be arrested and investigated.
Identity theft in Wynwood FL
Fraudsters steal personal data and typically use it to impersonate banking customers or to use someone else’s credit profile. In some cases, identity theft may be used to impersonate a corporate official and obtain sensitive business information. Some common types of identity theft include:
- child identity theft
- tax identity theft
- social Security identity theft
- medical identity theft
Florida embezzlement cases
Florida prosecutes embezzlement cases under the general theft statute. Embezzlement is a specific type of theft that involves taking advantage of a fiduciary duty for the purpose of illegally obtaining something of value. To establish a charge of embezzlement, the prosecution must prove the defendant held a trusted position in relation to the victim. The prosecution must also prove the defendant used his or her trusted position to deprive the victim of the enjoyment of his or her property. Examples of embezzlement include:
- a parking lot attendant keeping a customer’s car for personal use and reporting the car stolen
- a financial planner using clients’ funds to make personal investments
- a corporate executive diverting company funds into a personal account
- a cashier taking money out of the cash register at work for personal use without authorization
- a watch repair shop keeping a customer’s Rolex and filing an insurance claim for its loss
A Wynwood defense attorney may refute an embezzlement accusation by providing proof that the defendant believed he or she was authorized to take the property for personal use. If the attorney can prove the defendant returned the property or intended the property, the defendant would be less likely to be convicted on an embezzlement charge.
Wynwood white collar crimes defense attorney
White collar charges should always be taken seriously. If you are facing a charge for a white collar offense in Wynwood, an experienced white collar criminal defense attorney on the case may be able to help you protect your reputation and potentially avoid criminal conviction. Your Florida defense attorney’s defense strategy will depend on the individual facts of your case. Call Joffe Law, P.A. to learn more about our white collar criminal defense services in Wynwood FL. If you need legal representation, a member of our team will conduct a case evaluation.