White Collar Crimes Types

Types of White Collar Crimes

If you have been accused of a crime, our Chicago criminal lawyer may be able to help you create a strong defense. “White collar crime” is an umbrella term that is used to describe many kinds of crimes, but typically only those that involve financial gain through an act of deceit. The most well-known white collar crimes involve embezzlement, tax evasion, money laundering and fraud. There are many scams and frauds that fall under the white collar umbrella. While Ponzi schemes and insider trading often make the news, tax evasion and insurance fraud are far more common.

Fraud

Most white collar crimes involve fraud, which is a category of crime that usually involves deceit for the purpose of monetary gain. Securities fraud is a common type of white collar fraud and it involves trading securities, such as stocks. The most well-known type of securities fraud is insider trading, which involves someone receiving inside data about a company and using that information to help investment trades. An executive who has access to privileged information about a company and uses that information to sell a large amount of his stock in the company is guilty of insider trading and securities fraud. Securities fraud can also occur if you aim to invest in a company by intentionally misstating its prospects or current finances. Luring investors to put money into a company through misleading or false information is a form of securities fraud. False and misleading public reports from companies that are traded publicly may also result in charges of securities fraud. In order for securities fraud to occur, those who represent the business must make false statements with the intent to deceive. As in most white collar crimes, the crime is based upon the intent to deceive or otherwise mislead someone for the purpose of financial gain. If you have been accused of a white collar crime, our Chicago criminal attorney may be able to help you prove that you did not have the intent to deceive.

Other White Collar Frauds

There are many different fraudulent schemes that qualify as white collar crimes, including mortgage and insurance fraud. These types of crimes can be as simple as someone seeking to improperly collect on an insurance policy after previously lying on the application. These schemes can also occur on a larger scale and be perpetrated by businesses who defraud customers or the general marketplace. Ponzi schemes and other scams related to business that involve fraudulently taking money from investors are some of the most well-known types of white collar crimes, but they can come in all scales.

Embezzlement

Embezzlement occurs when you owe a duty someone and yet you take money from that same person. The most common example of embezzlement involves an employee taking funds from his employer by transferring money into his personal account. There are also gray areas of embezzlement, such as using client funds to commit embezzlement. If you have been accused of embezzlement, a Chicago criminal lawyer may be able to help you.

Tax Evasion

Criminal tax evasion takes a variety of forms, including illegally transferring property to avoid taxes and filing with false information. Individuals and businesses alike can commit white collar tax evasion.

Money Laundering

Money laundering can involve a variety of crimes and its flexibility has been the subject of significant controversy. Money laundering is defined as filtering illegally obtained funds through a legitimate channel to make it appear as though the money was legally obtained. Money laundering is usually a three-step process, involving the deposit of the illegally obtained money into a legitimate institution, the separation of the money from its original origins through a series of complex transactions, and the integration of the illegally obtained money with legally obtained money. A Chicago criminal lawyer can help you argue against unfair money laundering accusations.