Common White Collar Crimes

Often, white collar crimes are committed by educated professionals in a position of influence and power. Due to their complex nature, the crimes themselves can be difficult for government agencies to prove. However, once the state has enough evidence, white collar crimes come with decades of prison time and potentially millions in fines, depending on the charge.

White collar crimes include but are not limited to:

• Embezzlement: The misappropriation of funds, this occurs when someone in a position of trust (like a manager or accountant) begins to redirect or take money for personal gain. This can often occur for long periods without detection.
• Extortion: Also called blackmail, extortion involves obtaining property or goods from another individual through unethical means. This may include force, threats, or other forms of coercion.
• Fraud: Fraud can be anything from counterfeiting to forgery. Frequent targets of fraud include taxes, banks, mail, and the internet. Penalties for fraud may vary but can include decades in prison and thousands or more in fines.
• Insider Trading: This involves leaking information regarding a company's stocks and value to sell the information or notify an individual who can take advantage of the information. Conviction comes with up to 20 years in prison and millions in fines.
• Tax Evasion: Tax evasion occurs when people or companies act fraudulently to reduce or evade paying taxes. Citizens are required by law to pay federal and state taxes. While many people will reduce the amount they need to pay, it can lead to federal charges for tax evasion.
• Import/Export Crimes: This includes lying about the contents of a crate, false claims on import/export forms, smuggling, and importing illegal substances, such as drugs or stolen vehicles. Import/export crimes are federal crimes and are severely penalized.
• Money Laundering: Money laundering is the act of passing illegitimately earned funds through a legitimate entity to mask their origin. Defendants may be accused of laundering money to hide profits from theft, robbery, tax fraud, drug sales, or more.
• Public Corruption: Charges of public corruption can include a variety of actions, including bribery, embezzlement of government funds, fraud, or extortion. Public corruption is a federal crime and is often prosecuted at the highest, harshest levels.

White collar crimes often involve sophisticated, complex transactions. Because of this, whistleblowers can be very helpful to the government agencies that investigate and prosecute the internal crimes committed within some of America's largest companies.

Who Investigates & Prosecutes White Collar Crimes?

The FBI, the SEC, and IRS are just a few of the federal agencies that may investigate white collar crimes. Are all of these offenses prosecuted on the federal level? Not necessarily. White collar crimes are criminalized and prosecuted under both state and federal legislation, with the penalties generally being stiffer if prosecuted in the federal system.

For example, identity theft is illegal under state and federal law. As a state offense, the "criminal use of personal identification information" is criminalized under Sec. 817.568. So, in Florida, identity theft can be prosecuted as a felony of the third degree, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $5,000. On the federal level, identity theft is criminalized under 18 U.S. Code Sec. 1028. The punishment for identity theft under federal law is a fine and up to 20 years in prison.

If a Florida resident is facing identity theft charges, which are illegal under both state and federal law, prosecutors will decide whether the defendant should be prosecuted in state or federal court. If the facts of the case are serious enough or involve a large amount of money, there is a strong possibility that the defendant will be prosecuted in federal court.

Bribery Charges in Tampa, FL

One of the most common white collar criminal charges is "bribery." 

Under Florida law, bribery is the act of offering, promising, or agreeing to an exchange of money, services, or goods for influencing a public official's decision or performance of their duty. For example, "kickbacks" are a form of bribery. Like bribes, kickbacks occur when an official is offered a reward in exchange for someone's desired outcome. Kickbacks might help a person obtain knowledge they aren't supposed to have, place them in a position of influence, or help them obtain a contract. 

Aggressive White Collar Crime Defense in Tampa

A person who is under investigation for a white collar crime should speak with an attorney immediately, even before they've been formally charged. If you are facing an investigation or charges, The Law Offices of Jeff Paulk may be able to help. We've served Tampa and all of Florida for more than 20 years, helping thousands of clients avoid the serious repercussions of criminal charges and convictions, including a wide range of white collar crimes.

We aggressively defend clients who are facing charges involving business, financial, and political crimes. As your Tampa white collar crime attorney, Jeff Paulk is prepared to challenge the prosecution's evidence against you, questioning the validity of how it was obtained and working to make sure it cannot be used against you in trial. Our goal is to achieve the best outcome possible in your case, which could mean dropped charges.