Understanding Federal White Collar Crimes
White-collar crimes cover a wide range of non-violent criminal activities that fall into two broad categories. First, some crimes are standalone offenses. When someone commits these crimes, their goal is the prohibited outcome.
For example, a person commits insider trading for financial gain. Crimes in these categories usually have a victim, such as a person who was defrauded or investors who suffered financial losses.
Second, some crimes are committed to benefit a criminal or criminal group. A person commits money laundering to conceal the proceeds of other crimes. Similarly, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is used to punish people involved in criminal enterprises. These crimes require proof that the prohibited activity relates to an underlying or predicate offense.
Statutes Covering Federal White Collar Crimes in Missouri
The U.S. Code has hundreds of statutes covering various white-collar crimes. Generally, federal crimes must touch an area under federal jurisdiction, such as interstate commerce.
This does not mean that the crime must have happened across state lines, though. Merely using instruments of interstate commerce, such as the internet, will often be enough to trigger federal jurisdiction.
Additionally, these particular statutes do not cover federal sex offenses, gun charges, and drug trafficking offenses. Although those crimes do not necessarily involve violence, they are usually not considered white-collar crimes.
Some of the statutes prosecutors use to prosecute non-violent offenses include the following:
Fraud
Federal fraud statutes cover two specific types of fraudulent activity. Mail fraud happens when someone uses the mail to carry out a fraudulent scheme. Wire fraud occurs when the accused uses telecommunications systems, including the internet, to defraud.
Fraud is not simply being a bad businessperson. Many businesses fail without any fraudulent act. To commit fraud, the prosecution must show that the accused made a false representation of a material fact with the intent to deceive the alleged victim into giving up something of value.
Importantly, the misrepresentation does not need to occur over mail or telecommunication systems. Moreover, the fraud can still trigger federal fraud charges if it happened both online and offline.
For instance, suppose that the accused met with the alleged victim in person to sell them shares in a non-existent company. If the accused emailed a brochure and the victim mailed a check, prosecutors could file charges for both wire and mail fraud.
Tax Evasion
The tax code is extremely complicated. Even tax accountants make mistakes advising clients and filing forms, and taxpayers are allowed to minimize the taxes they owe using legitimate means, such as maximizing their deductions.
Criminal tax evasion happens when a taxpayer willfully avoids or attempts to avoid the taxes they owe. In other words, the person knows they owe taxes, and they deliberately engage in a course of action to avoid paying them.
For example, a taxpayer might alter their financial records, lie on their tax forms, or hide income or assets. These activities may expose the accused to additional charges for perjury, forgery, or other white-collar crimes.
Money Laundering
A side effect of the tax code has to do with documentation showing how you earned your money. If you live beyond your apparent means or have unexplained income, the government may wonder where else you earn your money.
Money laundering happens when the prosecution accuses you of concealing the source or nature of proceeds from unlawful activity. Thus, a bank robber cannot spend the money they stole without raising red flags. The person may create phony documents to make it appear that they had inherited a piece of property and sold it to explain where the money came from. This activity can constitute money laundering.
Insider Trading
Insider trading happens when the accused uses a manipulative or deceptive device in connection with the sale or purchase of any security. Securities can include publicly traded stocks, closely held companies, and even small partnerships. However, physical assets, like property or inventory, are typically not covered by the securities laws.
Manipulative and deceptive devices might include insider information not available to the public, “pump and dump” schemes, and falsehoods deliberately spread to alter the market’s perception of the security’s value.
RICO Act
Federal RICO charges were created to prosecute organized crime families. However, they have spread beyond their original use to cover biker gangs, drug cartels, and terrorist groups. Today, these charges can even be used against legitimate companies that engage in a pattern of criminal acts.
To prove RICO violations, prosecutors must show that the person was associated with an enterprise that engaged in a pattern of criminal activity and that they participated in at least two “predicate acts.” Importantly, the predicate acts for RICO charges do not need to include murder or any other sensational crimes.
For example, the CEO of a hospital that consistently engages in insurance fraud with the CEO’s knowledge might face RICO charges as a “criminal enterprise.”
Possible Defenses Against Federal White Collar Crimes
The defenses you can raise against federal white collar crimes in Missouri will depend on your circumstances. Some potential criminal defense strategies our Missouri federal white collar crimes attorneys may employ include the following:
Lack of Intent
Prosecutors must usually prove that you knowingly or intentionally engaged in criminal activity to win a white-collar criminal conviction. “Intentionally” means that your purpose was to bring about the prohibited result or engage in the prohibited act. “Knowingly” means that you acted despite knowing that the conditions existed that would make your actions criminal.
You may lack intent when you act in good faith. For example, if you give business projections based on generally accepted accounting principles, you might avoid a fraud conviction. Our defense attorneys can use expert witnesses to show that your actions were legitimate business activities rather than crimes.
Misidentification
Forensic electronic evidence might lead investigators to an IP address that you use. But this might not conclusively prove that you were behind the criminal act. Our attorneys can present alibi evidence proving that you did not engage in the acts the prosecutors have accused you of committing.
Good Faith Legal Advice
In some cases, such as tax evasion, you can present evidence that you only acted because you reasonably relied in good faith on legal advice. However, the advice must be reasonable. If someone tells you that income taxes are illegal and you do not need to pay them, you might have difficulty explaining the reasonableness of your belief.
On the other hand, if you were confused by a complex point of tax law, our attorneys may have a much better case for your defense.
Lack of Participation
One argument you can make in white collar cases is that you were not involved in any criminal activity. Thus, if prosecutors accuse a company of defrauding investors, you can argue that you were just the human resources manager who hired and fired workers and that you had no involvement in the investor-facing side of the company.
