White-collar crimes are sophisticated in nature. They are financial crimes that are usually complex. Multiple state and federal agencies will generally be involved in a white-collar crime investigation. If you are under investigation for a white-collar crime, do not wait until you are arrested to seek out legal counsel. A conviction will not only mean potential time spent in federal prison and steep fines that will have a big impact on your financial well-being, but it will also do irreparable damage to your personal and professional reputation. Below, we discuss the most common defenses to white-collar crimes.
What are some common defenses to a white-collar crime charge?
The earlier you seek out legal help with a white-collar crime charge or the possibility of a charge, the sooner your legal defense team can begin building the strongest possible defense for you. White-collar crimes include:
- Embezzlement
- Fraud
- Money laundering
- Tax evasion
- Computer and internet crimes
Each kind of white-collar crime and case will affect a defense strategy. The specific facts and circumstances of the case will have a great bearing on the defense employed to fight the charge, but there are some defenses to white-collar crimes that are more commonly used than others. For instance, a common defense strategy is to undermine and find weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. This plays on the fact that the prosecution must prove their case “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This is an extremely high threshold, the highest threshold there is in American law. Casting doubt on whether the prosecution has really carried this burden is a sound defense strategy in many, if not most, cases.
Showing the defendant lacked the intent to commit the crime is also a possible way to get white-collar crime charges dropped. Many white-collar crimes require that the prosecution prove the defendant had the intent to commit the crime. Sometimes, however, what the prosecutor calls a crime was simply a mistake or an oversight on the part of the defendant. For instance, what looks like tax fraud could have just been a mistake in tax filing on the part of the defendant.
The defense may also be able to show that the criminal act was only the result of coercion. The charges may be dropped if the defense can demonstrate that the defendant was forced by others to commit the criminal offense. Similar to this defense is the entrapment defense; with entrapment, law enforcement use actions of force or intimidation to push a defendant to commit a crime he or she would not have otherwise committed. This usually occurs in undercover sting operations. If law enforcement overreach in the operation to the extent that they actually end up inducing the criminal behavior, then the entrapment defense may apply.
Florida White Collar Crime Defense Attorney
White-collar crimes are complex. Usually, there are mountains of financial documents to sift through and unravel to not only understand the charges against a defendant, but to effectively strategize to fight the charges. Attorney Ron Herman has the experience with these types of crimes to bring a strong defense. Contact us today.