White-Collar Crimes

White-collar Crime Attorneys In Savannah, Georgia

Not all crimes involve violence or the harming of another person. You have probably seen movies where people steal large sums from a company or run a business as a front to launder money for their drug operation. These types of crimes are called white-collar crimes. According to the FBI’s website, “white-collar crime” was reportedly coined in 1939, and is “generally non-violent in nature and usually results in the financial gain of the perpetrators.” Other terms for white-collar crime are “corporate crime” and “white-collar theft.”

Why Are White-Collar Crimes So Consequential?

According to statistics reported on brandongaille.com, the average amount stolen in armed robberies is just over $3,000. The average computer-based white-collar crime may bring in a loss of more than $500,000.

Because these crimes involve a much larger amount of theft and federal agencies who are experienced at putting those accused to jail, the stakes are much more serious. Your biggest chance of reaching a positive result from your charge is to work with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Savannah, Georgia.

Common Types of White-Collar Crimes

There are three broad categories of white-collar crimes: corporate fraud, money laundering, and securities & commodities fraud, all of which have different scale and intent.

Corporate Fraud

The FBI defines these crimes as the highest priority when it comes to enforcement and punishment because of their scale. Corporate fraud involves creating false information and self-dealing.

• Falsification of Financial Information involves lying to auditors, investors, shareholders, or analysts about the financial standing of a company to make it seem as though it is making more money than it actually is.
• Self-Dealing, such as insider trading, means one or more people are sharing confidential information to affect the share price of the company in question or its competitors.

Money Laundering

Money laundering is the process of using cash earned by unlawful activities to appear as earnings from a legal business. The name “laundering” derives from making the money look “clean” to fool authorities. In the eyes of the FBI, there are three steps to laundering money:

• Placement: the initial entry of the illegal funds into the financial system
• Layering: the complex trail of financial transactions that create a sense of legality
• Integration: returning the money back into the hands of the criminal

Other Types of Fraud

The last category of white-collar theft is different from corporate fraud in the idea that these criminals change information to deceit potential investors or consumers. There are myriad charges that involve this type of fraud:

• Pyramid schemes bring in new money by attracting more and more “victims,” or salespeople, to maintain cash flow for as long as possible.
• Advance fee schemes attract many targets because they are told that a small investment will yield a much higher return.
• Broker embezzlement schemes involve direct theft from clients to brokers, typically covered up by redundant false documents.

You may find yourself entrenched in a mountain of documents that show evidence of you or your company’s wrongdoing, but there is still hope as long as you contact the Law Offices of Harold J. Cronk, PC. We are experienced criminal defense attorneys who have worked with white-collar theft and corporate fraud cases.