Accused of a White Collar Crime?

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White collar crime is the using of illegal acts involving deceit to obtain property or services. The illegally gotten property or services are then used to gain a business or professional advantage or monetary gain. A common white collar crime charged is mail fraud. Drug dealers are accused of this when street drugs and controlled substances are delivered through the mail. The St. Paul and Minneapolis criminal attorneys at Steven H. Snyder & Associates handle the defense of any type of white collar crime.

White Collar Crimes

Crimes defined as white collar include:

• Antitrust violations
• Bank fraud
• Bankruptcy fraud
• Bribery
• Computer/Internet fraud
• Credit card fraud
• Counterfeiting
• Stealing or misusing trade secrets (economic espionage)
• Embezzlement
• Extortion
• Forgery
• Insurance fraud
• Money laundering
• Securities fraud
• Tax evasion

The RICO Act

The RICO Act was originally enacted in order to control organized crime, but it has been used against drug dealers and other non-organized crime defendants. The RICO Act defines penalties for those who engage in racketeering to generate income to buy a business and/or to conduct business. A qualified St. Paul and Minneapolis criminal lawyer can explain a person's rights under the RICO Act.

Penalties

The penalties for white collar crimes vary, depending on the type of crime, the amount of money or substances involved and the individual’s prior record. Penalties can be jail or prison time, fines or a combination of jail/prison and fines. If convicted of a white collar crime, the court may confiscate property gained due to the fraud.

When calculating penalties for white collar crime, the Court follows a set of sentencing guidelines. The Court is given little in the way of discretion on the sentence. If there are extraneous circumstances, the court may look at the extraneous circumstances and consider those to impose sentences outside the sentencing guidelines. The sentencing guidelines are in place, so all criminal sentences are uniform. The maximum penalties are not usually imposed, as one of the circumstances (type of crime, amount involved, prior record) may not allow for the Court to hand down a maximum sentence.

If you are accused of or arrested for a white collar criminal charge, please contact our Twin Cities criminal lawyers now to protect yourself and your assets.