White Collar Criminal Attorney in Phoenix

White Collar Crime Examples

There are several different instances of white collar crime. Perhaps the most notorious and significant cases, however, include Charles Ponzi’s schemes, the Enron Corporation, and the case of Bernie Madoff.

Types of White Collar Crimes

There are two main classifications of white collar crime: individual and corporate. Individual crimes are those committed by a single person or a small group of people. Corporate crime is committed by a private company’s employees for the advantage of their employer. Both individual and corporate white collar crimes are often prosecuted in federal court.

Aside from whether the crime occurred at an individual level or corporate level, there are a number of offenses that may be committed that constitute white collar crime. The most common types of white collar offenses include:

Embezzlement

Perhaps the most well-known type of white collar crime is what is known as embezzlement. Embezzlement in Arizona is the theft or misappropriation of money that does not belong to you, usually occurring in a business-type setting. Typically, it is charged along with fraud.

Fraud

Fraud entails deception and a breach of trust to achieve an unfair or illegal advantage, often causing harm or loss to a firm or an individual. There are several different types of fraud including healthcare fraud, wire fraud, and check fraud, to name a few.

Forgery

Forgery is the crime of making a false copy of something or signing someone else’s name to a document. Fraudulent documents include contracts, financial applications, or checks forged with false signatures. Art and currencies are both susceptible to forgery, as well. 

Bribery

This offense refers to giving something of value to someone in a position of power, such as a public official, for example, in order to influence that person’s actions or decisions. If a public official, government employee, or elected representative makes a request for something of value, this is also considered bribery. Bribes must be given or taken with “corrupt intent” to be prosecuted. 

Extortion

Extortion is the obtaining of property, money, or favors illegally and through compulsion. The most well-known kind of extortion is blackmail, which is based on the threat of releasing the target’s private information. Public corruption is another common form of extortion. This occurs when a public official trades favors for a bribe, such as accepting a request or performing a specified action.

Counterfeiting

The illegal production of fake goods, documents, or currencies is what is referred to as counterfeiting. Perpetrators of this crime typically copy and sell reproductions as copyrighted, trademarked, or other legally protected information or products. The most typically counterfeited things include money, driver’s licenses, passports, designer products, and Treasury Bonds.

Racketeering

People usually associate the federal RICO law with this crime (Racketeers Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act). The state of Arizona, though, has anti-racketeering laws of its own, despite racketeering being a federal crime.

In Arizona, racketeering can refer to a variety of activities. As defined in A.R.S. 13-2301, racketeering refers to “any act, including any preparatory or completed offense, that is chargeable or indictable under the laws of the state or country in which the act occurred.” In this case, it includes money laundering, counterfeiting, making false claims, and printing false information about land for sale or lease.

Extortion, bribery, forgery, prostitution, terrorism, human trafficking, and other blue collar crimes are also included in racketeering.

Money Laundering

Money laundering, also referred to as “cleaning dirty money,” is the process of hiding the source of illegally obtained money to make it appear legitimate. Cleaning money typically involves separating funds into multinational banks in complex banking transactions. Money laundering schemes often progress through three stages, including placement/structuring, layering, and integration. 

Antitrust Violations

Antitrust laws are aimed at encouraging free and open markets. These laws restrict unfair competition by limiting the power of any one corporation or firm. Price fixing, bid rigging, price discrimination, boycotts, tying, and monopolization are all examples of violations of these antitrust laws. However, the two most common types of antitrust violations are agreements to suppress competition and attempts at acquiring a monopoly. 

Regardless of the type of offense committed, all cases involving white collar crime are complicated and require the experienced counsel of a Phoenix white collar crimes lawyer to reach a favorable outcome.