Nobody likes getting telemarketing calls. One reason for this is that many such calls are schemes designed to cheat individuals out of their money. Indeed, a popular scam is to call unsuspecting persons claiming to be from a government agency. The caller is told they are under investigation for some imagined crime and that they […]

Many white-collar crimes are committed by employees of large companies. Unfortunately, while many of these individuals are acting on their own, it is not uncommon for the companies that hire them to be unfairly accused of participating in the scheme. This can have devastating financial and personal repercussions for a company, making it especially important […]

White collar crime allegations are taken very seriously in Texas, even though they are by definition, non-violent offenses. For this reason, most of those who are accused of committing a white collar crime end up facing felony charges. Some of the more minor offenses, however, can be charged as misdemeanors, which tend to have much […]

Many white collar crimes involve some form of identity theft or fraud. For example, in Texas it is a Class B misdemeanor to falsely identify oneself as a police officer. Basically, this covers someone possessing or displaying a law enforcement badge even though they are not actually a “peace officer” or reserve police officer. Court: […]

White collar crimes are no laughing matter, especially when the defendant is a public official. The misuse of government funds can lead to serious felony charges such as wire fraud. And even a single conviction on wire fraud charges may carry a prison term of up to 20 years. Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals […]

Identity theft is one of the most commonly prosecuted white collar crimes in Texas. If you intentionally use someone else’s name, Social Security number, or other personal identifying information (PII) to obtain money, credit, or anything else of value, you can face serious federal criminal charges. And prosecutors will not hesitate to charge a potential […]

White collar crimes such as fraud often involve alleged conduct that takes place over an extended period of time. In attempting to prove a criminal charge, however, prosecutors need to show the defendant not only devised the scheme to defraud but also acted with specific intent to defraud. And as with any criminal case, the […]

When charged with a white collar crime, whether at the federal or state level, you have a constitutional right to a jury trial. The jury itself must be impartial and only consider the evidence lawfully introduced at trial. If there is any improper outside influence on the jury, that may be grounds for a mistrial […]

When a person is convicted of certain federal crimes, they can be ordered to pay restitution–i.e., compensation–to their victims. This goes for white-collar crimes as well as violent offenses. That said, the law does restrict the types of restitution that the government may seek to recoup on behalf of a victim. Restitution Law Meant to […]

White collar crimes like forgery are often prosecuted as misdemeanor offenses, which carry one year or less of jail time. But if a defendant has a prior criminal record, the prosecution may seek to “enhance” the misdemeanor charge into a felony. This means that even a fairly simple crime like check forging may land a […]