Defined as nonviolent crimes committed by an employee for personal financial gain, white collar crimes most typically involve office-based workers, business managers, fund managers, accountants or executives. There are several common types of white collar crime in which you should speak with a criminal defense attorney in Arizona. These crimes include:
- Bank Fraud, as part of which the employee engages in activity to defraud a bank of funds or commits a crime using the bank accounts of their employer
- Blackmail, a scheme during which the criminal demands money in exchange for relief from threats to cause bodily harm, property damage or reputation damage
- Bribery, during which the criminal offers money or something of value in exchange for influence over specific decisions or actions
- Telecommunications Fraud, the unauthorized use, manipulation or tampering of telephone or cell phone services for one’s own benefit
- Computer Fraud, the unauthorized use of or hacking into a computer system or network to illegally obtain information or proprietary secrets
- Counterfeiting, the illegal reproduction or copying of an item for personal gain, such as the copying of clothing, watches, handbags, documents or money
- Credit Card Fraud, the knowing or unauthorized use of credit cards to obtain personal items or for unauthorized purchases
- Currency Schemes, such as speculation on currency future values
- Embezzlement, wherein the criminal steals company funds or property for personal benefit
- Environmental Schemes, the fraudulent over-billing or other practices used under claims of environmental benefit for personal or company gain
- Extortion, the illegal obtaining of property from another person or entity using threats, force or violence
- Fraud and Forgery, the passing of falsified instruments such as checks bearing false signatures with the intent to financially gain from the act
- Healthcare Fraud, the provision of healthcare services without a license for financial benefit
- Insider Trading, use of inside confidential information for personal gain using trade of shares of publicly-held corporations on a stock exchange
- Insurance Fraud, falsifying an insurance claim or using other acts to illegally obtain funds from an insurance company
- Investment Schemes, such as tricking individuals into making investments for a non-existent or impossible return
- Kickbacks, the intentional selling of an item or contract with provision of a portion of purchase price back to the buyer
- Money Laundering, the transferal of illegally-obtained money between multiple points to make the money’s source untraceable
- Racketeering, the illegal operation of a business for personal profit
- Securities Fraud, artificial inflation of stock prices by brokers
- Tax Evasion, the committing of fraud when filing taxes, or non-payment of taxes due
- Telemarketing Fraud, placement of telephone calls to individuals or businesses, for sale of non-existent products or services, or collection of false charitable donations
- Theft and Larceny, stealing of another person’s or business’ property or money with the intent to personally gain or trade it
- Welfare Fraud, illegally obtaining benefits from the state or federal government, such as public assistance, food stamps or Medicaid
- Weights and Measures Fraud, the placement of items for sale at low prices, then increasing the price at actual sale or purposefully incorrectly labeling items as higher weight or quality to gain a higher price in sale
Any one of these crimes can come with serious consequences. Because of that, it is strongly recommended to seek the advice of a defense lawyer to assist in protecting your rights against white collar crimes that include. One of the questions that your criminal defense attorney may ask in the initial consultation is if have been read your Miranda Rights. There are a lot of elements to these rights that differ to what is shown on television that each person should know. Contact your attorney today to learn more about what these rights truly mean.