White Collar Crime
Fort Lauderdale Federal Criminal Defense Attorney Defends Clients Charged with White Collar Crime Throughout South Florida
White collar crimes have many variations among definitions and legal consequences. Determine exactly what your options are and receive white collar crime help by contacting Fort Lauderdale Federal criminal defense attorney, Kenneth Padowitz, Esq.. His past experience as a prosecutor and legal educator give him a broad base of knowledge that can be called upon to assist you. His impeccable reputation in the media and among his professional peers is also exactly what you need for help with white collar crime charges. Celebrities and prominent business leaders who commit white collar crimes may seem to escape severe consequences for their actions. Don’t assume every case is like this! White collar crimes in particular need a qualified expert who can navigate the legal system.
“White collar crime” is a relatively new term for an occupation related crime, usually committed by someone who has a high social standing and/or degree of power. This can include a broad range of offenses that may overlap with corporate crime, organized crime, and corruption. White collar crime generally refers to offenses such as embezzlement, identity theft, insider trading, bribery, forgery, and computer/internet criminal acts. Fraudulent activities like Ponzi schemes and Pyramid schemes also fall under the category of white collar crimes. Other forms of white collar crimes can include bank fraud, money laundering, extortion, and tax evasion.
The past few decades have introduced new elements to white collar crimes – specifically, computers and the internet. In prior years most white collar crimes involved a paper trail, but now we also see computer hard drive records and internet browser history coming into play. Email scams, internet “phishing”, and computer viruses can all fall under the category of white collar crime. These more modern elements can provide a level of anonymity for some white collar criminals, but they can be equally damaging as evidence against the person charged.
White collar crime has long been associated with people in high power positions – even before the term was coined in the 1939. There have always been examples of powerful individuals being protected by their financial or social status. When professor Edwin Sutherland came up with the phrase, he was referencing crimes committed by this subset of people. In modern times, though, standards of media coverage and the availability of information online can make it difficult for a person to avoid the repercussions of committing a white collar crime.
White collar crimes tend to be intentional and for personal financial gain, so consequences can be severe. The crimes are non-violent acts, though, which involve the use of deception rather than physical coercion tactics. As with most crimes, the laws and punishments regarding white collar crime vary between jurisdictions and locations. The legal ramifications can be accompanied by bankruptcy, loss of business, loss of stature or trust within your industry, and ruined personal relationships. Fort Lauderdale Federal Criminal Defense Attorney Kenneth Padowitz has a proven track-record of successful representation in many cases of white collar crime.