Fort Bend County White Collar Crimes Lawyer

Those facing charges for white collar crimes stand to lose not just their freedom, but their long-term reputation in the community they reside and the industry where they make a living. The Fort Bend County white collar crimes lawyer who defends them must be meticulous in their investigative work and ferocious in their advocacy. White collar crimes are often the subject of federal investigations, from the FBI to the Securities & Exchange Commission. The defense attorney must be fearless in contesting them and determined in doing the legal footwork.

The Law Office of Annie Scott has spent over 12 years fighting for the people of Fort Bend County and Harris County. We understand the strategies prosecuting attorneys use and we know how to combat them on behalf of our clients. 

Call our Sugar Land office today at (281) 466-4118 or contact us online to set up a free consultation.

Common Examples of White Collar Crime

White collar crime is a broad term. It’s understood to be anything that’s non-violent from a physical standpoint and aimed instead at financial gain. The tactics alleged by prosecutors in white collar crimes often include deceit, violations of personal and professional trust, and sometimes the violation of legally binding fiduciary responsibility. Some of the most common white collar crimes include the following…

Mortgage Fraud

A individual might be charged with lying–either directly or by omission–on an application that was used to obtain a mortgage. These types of schemes can be as simple as the deliberate misstatement of one’s annual earnings to as complex as “renting assets” from friends and then returning them after the mortgage comes through.

Another example might be an appraiser who works in collaboration with house-flippers. The appraiser could be charged with essentially “fudging the numbers” to allow the flippers to buy their property low and sell it high.

False Identity

A individual might be charged with getting a hold of someone’s personal identifying information (i.e., a Social Security number) and using it to open accounts and obtain lines of credit.

Money Laundering

When criminal organizations get money, they need to make that money appear “clean”. The process by which that happens is called money laundering. This can be a very complex process, involving multiple transactions to separate the money from its illicit origins and make it difficult for authorities to trace.

The complexity of the process often means that innocent people can end up handling illegal money and being completely unaware of it. These individualsneed a Fort Bend County white collar crimes lawyer to clear their good name.

Healthcare Fraud

This occurs when a medical provider seeks to defraud an insurance company or benefit program. A common example is to submit claims for services that never actually happened. The Medicaid and Medicare programs are often targets of this type of fraud. Potential individualscan include not just the doctor in charge of the practice, but administrators who may be unwittingly caught up in the scheme and need legal counsel.

Embezzlement

Embezzlement is another form of stealing and it happens when the person charged with the crime had been placed in charge of overseeing the stolen money. This can happen at any level of business, but small businesses–which may have blurred lines between accounts for business and accounts for personal use–might be particularly vulnerable. It’s also possible in these circumstances that the person charged with embezzlement might not actually be guilty.

Corporate Fraud

Fraud in any circumstance is simply the misstating of information in a way that harms the victim. At the corporate level, this can involve changing financial statements as a means of deceiving shareholders or potential investors.

A white-collar crimes defense strategy requires meticulous research and ferocious advocacy. At the Law Office of Annie Scott, we do both. Call today at (281) 466-4118 or contact us online to set up a free consultation. Calls answered 24 hours a day/7 days a week by a live person.