Business/Corporation Involvement in White Collar Crime

Many people -- even many people in high positions in business -- aren’t aware that corporations can actually be charged with offenses, just like individual people committing crimes. Criminal lawyers often have to defend businesses, both against civil suits and against criminal suits, although the crimes that each individual person within the business committed, may not have made a large impact by themselves. Today we look at when and why a corporation can be charged with a crime.

What types of charges can be brought against businesses?

Companies and organisaitons can have either criminal or civil charges laid against them. Some examples of common suits that are brought against corporations including violating antitrust laws, engaging in racketeering, failing to keep required records, violating employment law, etc. These civil suits are the most common ones handled by Florida defense lawyers.

However, if the managers of a business are seen to be exceptionally indifferent to the criminal activities of its staff, or to condone them in any way, criminal charges may be brought against the business itself.

How can a business avoid criminal or civil charges?

This question is quite simple for most private citizens -- simply avoid doing anything that you know is illegal, and check on the legality of any new activities you engage in. For a business, it is not so simple. The culpability of a company in a criminal activity or a civil suit depends on what its employees do. Broadly speaking, a business must monitor for illegal activity, respond to allegations or suspicions about it, and cooperate with investigations.

Here are some tips for businesses looking to ensure they don't need their own criminal lawyer for the activities of their employees:

• Monitor - Monitor all appropriate records -- conduct internal audits of any records that have a legal ramification. For example, financial records, occupational health and safety records, etc, should all be checked internally to uncover problems before the law does.
• Implement - Appropriate compliance and regulatory mechanisms in a business. Obviously the specific nature of these will vary vastly, but a criminal lawyer or business consultant can help determine them.
• Listen - for any rumors ore reports of illegal activities by employees and investigate them appropriately. In many cases, managers tend to take a 'not my problem' attitude to reports of criminal wrongdoings by staff. They don't realize the impact it can have on the business itself.

Co-operate - with any investigations by the law that the business didn’t know about beforehand. Further charges could be laid on the business itself if police and prosecutors don't get easy access to required evidence for an individual trial.

The Law and You: Federal Environmental Law

Environmental law is one of the last legislative areas where the public and the administrators of the law show a significant difference of opinion in the severity of crimes. Where environmental law infringements can be seen as not really mattering by the general public, the broad view that legislators have of the total impact of all crimes leads them to take quite a dim view of those caught. Today we are exploring the key areas of federal environmental law that people must be aware of, through the eyes of Florida criminal lawyers.

Federal Water Pollution Control Act

This controls the dumping of waste in waterways. While the main focus of the law is on controlling industrial waste, even small agricultural operators are often caught out by this law.

Clean Water Act

This was passed in 1977 as an adjunct to the Water Pollution Control Act. This aims more specifically to protect fish, shellfish and wildlife, by preventing discharge of toxins into the water and stopping major sources of water pollution.

Clean Air Act

Your car's emission control system is regulated by this piece of legislation, which also controls emissions from all stationary, mobile, and large-area sources. There are quite a lot of proactive measures in this act, as opposed to some other acts which are mostly prohibitive - for example, it promotes employer-sponsored carpooling, use of bicycles etc.

Noise Control Act

Florida criminal attorneys spend a substantial amount of time defending people charged under this act. It aims to reduce or eliminate noise that jeopardizes health and welfare, including from appliances, industrial machines, and vehicles.

Endangered Species Act

This also covers threatened species, which are seen as likely to become endangered at some stage in the future. The law provides a program for their conservation, and occasionally hunters or people keeping certain animals as pets need a criminal lawyer to defend them from charges under it.

Fortunately, the government sees their own actions as subject to environmental control laws also, and all federal projects must comply with the same type of laws that ordinary citizens must. This is regulated by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

The Law and You: Tax Evasion versus Tax Avoidance

To the person on the street, tax avoidance and tax evasion are one and the same -- it means that you haven't paid the taxes you were supposed to. However, for a small section of the population and their criminal attorneys, the difference is enormous -- it possibly represents the difference between spending some years in jail, and going about your life as usual.

What is tax avoidance?

There are literally thousands of legal ways to avoid paying tax on some of your income. In some cases being able to avoid tax might depend on:

• What you spent the income on; if it was for business purposes or a charitable donation, you avoid paying tax on that income -- but this is obviously legal
• The country you derived the income from
• Transferring assets to another jurisdiction
• Changing the structure of legal entities

The term "tax mitigation" is sometimes used by criminal attorneys and legislators to avoid the negative connotation of the term "tax avoidance".

What is tax evasion?

The most typical ways that ordinary citizens evade paying tax which they are legally subject to, include:

• Failing to report income -- being paid in cash
• Claiming deductions which are not authorized, in the hope they will not be investigated
• Claiming personal deductions as business expenses, or vice versa
• Falsely claiming charitable contributions
• Overestimating the value of property donated to charity
• Underestimating the value of assets that have been received

Ordinary citizens can sometimes be caught up in tax evasion charges without any knowledge that they were engaging in unethical or illegal conduct -- this most often occurs when an accountant makes illegal deductions or underreports income or assets on the defendants behalf.

Of course, the question of intent factors enormously in the outcome of trials for tax evasion. It may not reduce the likelihood of getting a guilty verdict, but it has definite potential to reduce the sentence or penalty that is imposed. This is where expert Florida criminal lawyers are a necessity if you have been charged with tax evasion.

Tips from Criminal Attorneys: Can They Search Me?

Most US citizens are compliant with the law, to a very large degree. There are odd parking violations, speeding tickets, sometimes instances of petty vandalism or theft, and so-called victimless crimes like taking soft drugs. Many people have no idea about their rights when it comes to police interactions, apart from the fact that they have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Here Florida criminal attorneys help you take your rights into your own hands, possibly helping you present the facts more clearly to a jury in the case of any run-ins with the law. We're looking specifically at on-the-street search situations here.


The Basics
The overarching guideline for fairness is that police can search you and your property, and also seize your property with or without a warrant, if the circumstances justify their actions. They need to have probably cause, and stay within constitutional limitations. However, in a situation where they feel it would be your word against theirs the lines can become blurred. Your criminal attorney can help retrospectively, but you can help yourself proactively.

Tip #1: Draw attention to yourself
If police feel that there are witnesses around (especially witness that aren’t related to you), they are more likely to act fairly to begin with. Shout "Hello! Can you come over here please?" to a stranger passing by, and if you have friends around, make sure they are with you.

Tip #2: Cellphone savers
An easy way to keep a record of what is said is to call your home phone from your cell, and put your cell on loudspeaker. While police don’t necessarily have the power to stop you doing this, it would be wise not to call attention to it. Your criminal attorney may be able to use the conversation in court, if necessary.

Tip #3: Consider the implications of false denials
If you are found to have something illegal in your possession, your best bet is to remain silent, as the movies and television have taught us so well. If you deny that something is yours, it raises the question of who it belongs to - and may start trouble for your family and friends.

Tip #4: Resist verbally, not physically
If you state verbally, loudly, that you do not agree to be searched, the police cannot "accidentally" slip their hand in your pocket while doing a (legal) patdown, and find anything you would rather not have to explain. They must have probable cause to search you -- if you don’t believe they do, then object to the search so that everyone around you can hear. Never physically resist, or your criminal attorney will have much more work to do for little gain by you.

Naked Short-Selling - Stock Counterfeiting

When most people think of counterfeiting, printing off your own money comes to mind and handing it over to an unsuspecting bank teller comes to mind. In reality, all sorts of things are subject to counterfeiting law, and money is involved in only a small part of the counterfeiting charges laid. Naked short-selling is also known as stock counterfeiting - today we explore the stock practices that may require the services of a criminal lawyer.

In decades past, stock counterfeiting had to be done with paper and ink, and a dab hand at forging signatures. Now that electronic means of administering the stock market dominate, it is actually much easier to counterfeit stock. This is a common method that Florida criminal lawyers see.

Naked Short Selling
There is a three-day leeway between the payment of a stock by the buyer, and its delivery by the broker. The money is paid, a Securities Entitlement for the amount of stocks purchased is put into the buyer's account, and the broker collects his commission. However if the stocks aren’t available, on day 3 the broker is supposed to remove the Securities Entitlement from the buyer's account and refund the commission and the purchase price. Simply failing to do this, and acting as if the Securities Entitlement is real and valid, is known as naked short selling.

Relatively common -- but illegal
Obviously, this is a form of fraud and theft, and as such is illegal practice. However, many brokers continue to do it, because if the buyer wants to onsell those stocks, they can hardly be told at the point of sale that they aren’t real. Another unwitting buyer is dragged into the loop, and while there is no loss on the broker/trader side of the fence, there is plenty on the investor side.

Investors protecting themselves
Investors would become subject to criminal charges also if they onsold this stock - a situation that most would consider extremely unfair. However, in some cases courts have determined that the original buyer (and attempted seller) is at fault, because of a lack of due diligence on their part. To avoid needing a Florida criminal attorney for an act you had no idea was wrong, always check for a corresponding book-entry share in the DTC's ledger.

There When You Need Them

My son and four of his friends spent spring break in Miami and while they were there they got into some trouble with the law. He was arrested and was being held in a Miami jail. The first thing I did was contact a criminal lawyer to take the case and get my son out of jail while he waits for trail. Thankfully the criminal attorney I picked was very wise and very helpful. I wired him the retainer and within four hours of getting the case my son was out on bail.

By the time I got to Miami, this wonderful attorney had already gotten the charges reduced from felony to misdemeanor charges. I had visions of having to spend thousands of dollars and months in trial before this whole mess would be over but they had it pretty well over with by the time I got to Florida. Because of the efforts of the Miami criminal attorney that we hired, this incident will not be on my son’s record for the rest of his life. Because of a plea bargain, the charges were dropped completely and he just had to pay for damages. Something that could have haunted him the rest of his life was now just a bad memory.

All four of his friends used the same criminal attorney we used and they all got the same deal as my son did. All five of them had to pay a total of $8,000 in damages to the hotel where they were staying. Apparently they had decided to have a party in their room which got way out of hand and a fight broke out. There was a great deal of damage done to the room and the lobby of the hotel. It could have been much worse for them; they were lucky to have such a good lawyer on their side.

After it was all said and done and the boys were back home and out of danger I sent a very nice thank you letter to the office of the Miami criminal attorney that we used. I wanted to make sure he knew how thankful I was for the work he did for the boys and how he really made a difference in their lives. They could have been living with felony charges for the rest of their life but he made it possible for them to get past this mistake they made without it ruining the lives forever.

When You Need a Criminal Lawyer

Here's a scenario we hope no one reading this will ever experience: a highly respected professional, perhaps an accountant, finds himself suddenly in need of a criminal attorney. He's been arrested for a white-collar crime and has no idea what's at stake. Let's look at the ways, without representation by an experienced criminal lawyer, the life of a respected professional can be devastated.

As a Fort Lauderdale criminal lawyer, my office has seen some very difficult circumstances surrounding white collar prosecution. Whether or not they're convicted, professionals such as corporate executives, physicians and accountants can find their reputations ruined and assets seized long-term without the proper representation.

Not the least of the potential damage is to one's professional reputation. Consider for a moment the news-hungry, 24-hour-a-day environment in which today's media operates. Even local media outlets are fed by international news sources, making news of an alleged crime widely accessible. It's easy to see why having a highly-competent criminal attorney, well-versed in white collar criminal defense, is essential to help protect your public image.

Another huge factor that impacts professionals accused of financial crimes is seizure of assets. Each state has its own statutes pertaining to seizure of assets believed to be gained by the commission of a crime, with underlying federal law supporting them. And it may surprise you to know that it's quite simple for a law enforcement agency in most states to obtain the legal documents necessary to seize assets such as homes, vehicles and cash they believe were the result of your alleged criminal activity.

Experience as a Miami criminal attorney has made me privy to cases in which law enforcement personnel far overreached the legal boundaries of asset forfeiture or seizure, however, and the civil process by which those assets are returned can move slowly.

The biggest risk in such a situation is, of course, the possibility of imprisonment and financial penalty. Whether or not you actually committed the crime of which you might, hypothetically, be accused, you would be guaranteed by our country's founding documents a "vigorous defense" before being penalized.

Here in Florida, that would mean being represented by a West Palm Beach criminal lawyer, for example, who knows how to make sure your rights are protected. No matter what your location, finding that type of representation is essential.

I hope you never experience any of the above, but if you do, don't hesitate to secure the services of a criminal attorney experienced in the defense of white collar crimes prosecution. Having an experienced advocate to ensure your rights are upheld and damage to your reputation mitigated can make all the difference in whether your life as a respected professional is devastated or restored.