White Collar Crimes

White collar crimes typically refer to a type of crime committed by business people, entrepreneurs, public officials, and professionals through deception, as opposed to street crimes which tend to involve force (i.e., violent crimes). Although white collar criminal charges are usually brought against individuals, corporations may also be subject to sanctions for these types of offenses.

Depending on whether Federal or State law has been violated, white collar crimes can be prosecuted at the Federal or State level. Penalties vary, but in some cases can result in large fines, home detention, community confinement, costs of prosecution, forfeitures, restitution, supervised release, and imprisonment.

White Collar Crimes Following the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

In the wake of the Enron/Arthur Anderson scandal came the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, mandating the separation of auditing and consulting businesses in an attempt to restore public confidence in the investment market. The Act creates a number of new Federal crimes (i.e., document destruction and tampering, securities fraud, certification of false financial statements, and attempt and conspiracy), many of which apply to both public and private companies, their directors, officers, and employees. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also significantly enhances penalties applicable to a host of existing white collar crimes.

A number of Federal agencies including the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the Secret Service, U.S. Customs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, participate in the enforcement of Federal white collar crime legislation. In addition, most states employ their own agencies to enforce white collar crime laws at the State level.

UNITED DEFENSE OF FLORIDA Can Help

It takes a firm with the confidence and know-how to deal with Federal and State authorities when it comes to defending individuals and/or corporations against white collar criminal charges. If you or your organization have been accused or charged with such a crime, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately. Early intervention in criminal matters, specifically white collar offenses, has helped us achieve some outstanding results, and will be pivotal to the outcome of your case.