State and federal law enforcement agencies are increasing scrutiny of executives and businesses for a variety of offenses. This includes insider trading, tax fraud, money laundering, and public corruption among others. Corporations and executives might not realize that they could be at serious risk of committing a crime.
Similarly, multinational corporations face increasing legal challenges all over the globe. Enforcement activity is increasing and fines against corporations are being levied by different national regulatory agencies. All crimes, from money laundering and bribery to securities violations and fraud, are attracting more attention. Individual countries are attempting to regulate behavior beyond their borders. This is causing increased cooperation between law enforcement agencies around the globe and regulators.
Companies or individuals may be the subject of a government investigation, which could cause parallel civil and criminal proceedings. The stakes are high; these could include severe civil penalties, loss of professional licenses, reputational damage, criminal prosecution, and possible criminal prosecution.
Individuals and businesses can suffer from the effects of complex and white-collar regulatory enforcement actions. These cases can lead to serious consequences for individuals and businesses, including the possibility of imprisonment. In these cases, it is important to find a lawyer who not only knows the right thing to do but also has the ability to complete the task.
White-collar defense means delivering results in high-stakes situations. Individuals, special committees, boards, and companies all use Riccio Law’s White Collar Defense & Investigations service to help them navigate the most difficult inquiries. Our team is responsive, discreet, efficient, and most importantly effective in managing internal reports of misconduct or full-blown government investigations.
Judgment, compassion, courtroom skills, and experience are the essential ingredients for a successful federal criminal attorney. As you will see, every member of our white-collar group has these qualities and more.
We have dealt with every aspect of white-collar criminal, civil and regulatory investigations as well as litigation that affects individuals and businesses. Discussed are some types of white-collar crimes we deal with:
1. Bank Fraud
This refers to the illegal use of financial assets, money, or property that is owned or controlled by financial institutions. Bank fraud is normally applied to any scheme used to steal a depositor’s money, unlike bank robbery and theft. Bank fraud is usually considered a white-collar offense due to this distinction. To discuss how you might defend bank fraud criminal charges, please contact a criminal attorney.
2. Bankruptcy Fraud
This includes concealment or destruction of assets or documents, false claims, false declarations, and conflicts of interest. Perjury is when bankruptcy forms are falsified, and multiple filings violate bankruptcy law provisions. Bankruptcy fraud can be a crime and a felony as per any state’s Penal Code.
3. Bribery
This refers to the act of giving money and gifts in exchange for a change in behavior. Black’s Law Dictionary defines bribery as “the receiving, giving, offering, or soliciting any item of value in return for influencing an official or individual in the charge of a public duty or legal obligation.” Contact one of our white-collar criminal attorneys immediately if you are charged with bribery.
4. Computer/Internet Fraud
This happens when technology is used or altered to commit fraud and is often considered a federal white-collar crime. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act prohibits computer fraud; penalties and monetary fines can be severe.
5. Credit Card Fraud
Often associated with identity theft, credit card fraud involves payment cards such as debit or credit cards. While it only accounts for 1% of all card transactions, there have been massive financial losses involving cards.
6. Counterfeiting
This involves forgeries of documents, currency, and the imitations of real products such as pharmaceuticals, clothing, and handbags. While global governments condemn the counterfeiting of money, many governments condone the counterfeiting of products.
Currently, counterfeit paper money is the most sought-after counterfeit item.
7. Coercion
Coercion is a crime that takes property, money, or services from individuals or businesses through extortion. A threat of violence made in conjunction with a promise to future violence is enough to be considered a crime.
As per guidelines for white-collar crime sentencing, extortion can be a serious white-collar corporate crime that is subject to severe punishment.
8. Embezzlement
This is incorrectly withholding assets of another person when they can be trusted. An attorney could embezzle funds out of clients’ trust accounts and financial advisor funds from investors.
The United States considers embezzlement a statutory crime. Therefore, the law defines the crime differently from one statute to the next. Usually, embezzlement includes the fraudulent conversion of property owned by another person by someone who is legally in possession of it.
9. Export Control Fees
Normally, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) investigates individuals for export control crimes in one of these three situations.
10. Forgery
This refers to the act of altering or making objects or documents in order to deceive people or businesses into paying large amounts of money. However, counterfeiting of consumer goods can also occur if the manufacturer is not the one that made them.
11. Insurance and Healthcare
Healthcare fraud can include medical scams, healthcare fraud, and drugs fraud. This can also happen when someone denies a benefit to which they are entitled.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the most prevalent types of Insurance fraud are Workers Compensation Fraud, premium diversion, and fee-churning.
12. Financial Crimes
Usually, these crimes involve the illegal conversion or transfer of property rights from one person to another.
Many financial crimes are committed in combination with other crimes, such as elder abuse, computer crime, or armed robbery. Individual offenders and corporations can commit financial criminal acts.
Federal white-collar crimes refer to those who commit fraud on the federal government, such as welfare abuse and fraudulent contracting. Federal white-collar crimes also include crimes that are committed across state boundaries. Multiple circumstances may lead to white-collar crimes that are committed within the borders of one state rising to the federal level.
Do not hesitate to consult Anthony Riccio — a top-ranking criminal defense attorney– if you are facing a serious federal offense.
This is the criminal act of changing the proceeds from a crime into money or other assets. Anti-money laundering laws often link money laundering and financing terrorism. Anti-money laundering laws were developed more recently to address the financial crime of terrorist funding. Money laundering deals with the source of the money, while terrorist financing deals directly with the destination.
To understand the possible criminal charges that you might face, please speak to a white-collar defense attorney as soon and as quickly as possible.
Attorney Anthony Riccio provides a critical perspective on every case, and is experienced in both sides of the table; this includes familiarity with how white-collar cases are constructed and how they can best be dismantled.
Clients facing government investigations have one goal: to prevent prosecution. Attorney Anthony Riccio excels at keeping that focus. Our attorneys have worked with government officials and are well-equipped to present persuasive arguments, limit the scope of inquiries, negotiate favorable solutions, and minimize exposure.
We are well experienced and are ready to defend our clients in court in the unlikely event of prosecution. Together, our attorneys have tried hundreds of cases as both defense lawyers and prosecutors.
Riccio Law conducts complex internal investigations for corporate clients regularly. We conduct thorough investigations quickly. Our attorneys help clients to understand their exposure by setting priorities, assessing witness credibility, making factual findings, and determining the best course of action. We offer our clients practical, non-jargon-free advice that includes whether to discipline rogue actors or self-report misconduct, overhaul compliance mechanisms, and other protective measures.
We also offer sophisticated compliance advice that can be used outside of the context of an investigation.
Our team is familiar with a variety of high-stakes, complex, and multijurisdictional legal issues. We deal with the complexities and risks that can arise from enforcement and investigation actions. We offer cost-effective and comprehensive representation to clients who are exposed to criminal and civil liability.
Our expertise covers all phases of corporate compliance as well as regulatory enforcement. We offer advice and representation in relation to compliance reviews, risk assessments, compliance programs, investigations, and civil and criminal enforcement cases and related civil claims. We advise on the application and enforcement of national securities regulations, as well as global sanctions. These areas of law are constantly changing.
Our team has accumulated extensive subject-matter expertise over decades of experience, backed up by client reviews . This includes areas such as criminal antitrust and international anti-corruption.
Riccio Law is responsible for client strategy when it comes to inquiries, investigations, and enforcement actions by federal and state authorities. This includes executive agency inspector generals, state attorneys general, U.S. Congress, and U.S. Attorneys.
No firm has a deeper white-collar team in terms of experience and judgment than ours. Our white-collar attorneys have held important and meaningful positions in government and non-government.
We have experience in handling matters of national importance and are often called upon by other lawyers to assist with matters where the stakes are especially high.
Anthony Riccio is a well-known lawyer who has successfully represented clients in complex, high-profile white-collar civil and criminal cases. We are able to try cases and have a lot of courtroom experience, which attracts clients to our group for their most urgent matters. These include those that could threaten the survival of a company or the liberty or careers of individuals.
Our adversaries know that we are willing and able to take cases to trial. This reputation increases our ability to settle matters favorably in and outside of court.
Our clients choose us because of our experience and sound judgment in navigating complex and sensitive issues. We know how judges and regulators think and what they should do. We are respected and know our regulators, so we use our reputation to address their concerns while respecting our clients. We draw on our extensive experience working with many regulatory regimes to develop innovative arguments.
Our lawyers also advise clients on preventive steps, assist them in establishing corporate compliance programs to minimize risk, as well as to conduct independent internal investigations into corporate conduct. Our lawyers have represented audit committees as well as other special committees that investigate accounting fraud and other alleged wrongdoings.
Our criminal defense experience gives us an advantage over corporate law firms that specialize in white-collar crimes; that’s why clients choose us . We are able to understand the complexities of a federal investigation and will take cases to trial. We are able to negotiate aggressively with government officials to secure favorable plea agreements for our clients.
Our Massachusetts lawyers have a long track record of representing federal crime victims; we have represented individuals and companies in white-collar criminal trials, government investigations, and administrative enforcement actions. We have conducted internal investigations as well as advised clients on compliance matters.
It is often better to have sensitive matters, such as white-collar cases, resolved quietly than to bring them before they reach a courtroom. Our team is often called upon to evaluate the facts and determine the best course of action. Then, we implement the plan. We have resolved many significant white-collar cases, despite each case being unique.
Riccio Law’s white-collar defense practice is one of the most respected and prominent in the United States. This reputation has been built over decades by representing individuals and businesses in some of the most high-profile criminal investigations and prosecutions in America. We are known for our active caseload and regularly bring tough criminal cases to court.
We are skilled at finding creative solutions to complex problems. Many clients have been able to resolve their cases before they were indicted. We also conduct internal investigations for public and private companies. Our team excels at complex multijurisdictional investigations while keeping our eyes on important issues.
We can help you if you’re facing possible government investigations or white-collar charges. Please contact us or call us at (508) 226-4500 for a free case evaluation.
