White Collar Crimes Defense Attorney in San Diego

As a term, white-collar crime covers a variety of legal infractions, the majority of which are financial in nature and deal mostly with fraud of some kind. Typically, white-collar crimes in San Diego County are considered financially motivated, non-violent offenses committed by government officials and professionals, as well as by businesses and other corporate entities.

Because of the complex nature of white-collar crime and the sheer number of offenses white-collar crime entails, legal proceedings are best handled by an experienced attorney who understands all of the unique nuances that may present in a criminal white collar criminal charge.

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What is white-collar crime?

White-collar crime is an umbrella term that covers a “full range of frauds,” including:

  • Asset forfeiture
  • Bankruptcy fraud
  • Corporate fraud
  • Financial institution fraud
  • Health care fraud
  • Identity theft
  • Insurance fraud
  • Market manipulation fraud
  • Money laundering
  • Mortgage fraud
  • Piracy
  • Securities and commodities fraud
  • Theft of intellectual property

There are a variety of financial scams that also constitute white-collar crime.  They include:

  • Antitrust or price-fixing schemes
  • Housing stealing
  • Jury duty scams
  • Options backdating
  • “Pump and Dump” stock scams
  • Social security card fraud
  • Staged auto accidents
  • Work at home scams

When an individual is charged with what is considered to be a “white-collar crime” in San Diego County he or she is actually being charged with one of the offenses listed above, such as embezzlement, insider trading, tax evasion, etc. The term “white-collar crime” is simply the legal arena in which these crimes typically occur.

Embezzlement Criminal Defense in San Diego

One of the most common white-collar offenses in the state of California and in the financial sector is embezzlement. In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft of assets, such as money or property, by an individual that has been trusted with or has been made responsible for those assets.

One of the most common versions of this crime, which occurs in San Diego County with frequency is accounting embezzlement. When an accountant is trusted to manage another individual’s funds, he or she has a legal obligation to serve the client’s best interests and truthfully report on the status of those assets. Accounting embezzlement occurs when an accountant manipulates the accounting records, cash flow, or reported asset information in order to hide the evidence of their asset theft.

How does embezzlement work? Like most white-collar crimes, embezzlement occurs most frequently in the corporate sector. While some San Diegans accused of embezzlement take a hefty amount of money in one bulk amount, others may be accused of siphoned small amounts over a long period of time.

In order to charge an individual with embezzlement in San Diego, a few core facets must be proven:

  • A “fiduciary relationship” must be established between the two parties involved. A fiduciary relationship is a relationship in which one party relies on the other. In cases of embezzlement San Diego, this generally means that one party has trusted the other to handle financial responsibilities of the former party’s assets.
  • The defendant—the person being accused of embezzlement—acquired the assets or property through the previously mentioned fiduciary relationship.
  • The defendant either had to take ownership of the assets—siphon the money to his or her own account—or have transferred the assets to someone else who is not the actual owner of said assets.
  • The defendant knowingly and intentionally transferred or took ownership of the assets.

Corporate Fraud Defense in San Diego

Corporate fraud is one of the FBI’s highest priorities when it comes to white-collar crime. While corporate fraud is a nonviolent offense, the ramifications of this type of white-collar crime can be severe, and thus, a conviction of corporate fraud in San Diego County will result in myriad penalties, depending on the scope of the “white collar crime” committed and the criminal background of the accused defendant.

Primarily, corporate fraud involves falsifying the financial information of either public or private corporations, and self-dealing—which is defined as insider trading, kickbacks, tax violations, and the financial misuse of corporate property. Concealing, misrepresenting, or falsifying documents that would aid in the investigation of a corporate fraud case is also considered corporate fraud in San Diego County, as well as potential obstruction of justice.

Corporate fraud is most frequently committed the following ways:

  • Deceiving investors, analysts, or auditors regarding a corporate entity’s financial status
  • Financial manipulations that hide losses
  • Manipulating financial data, share prices, or other measurements of valuation in order to falsely inflate the performance or value of a corporate entity
  • Secretly occurring transactions that attempt to evade regulations and oversight

In the state of California, to include greater San Diego County, multiple fraud types qualify as white-collar crime. Finance is an incredibly complex area of the law and the penalties for white-collar crime in San Diego vary wildly depending on the unique factors of the charges leveled against you and the level of skill and understanding of these laws, your Criminal Defense attorney possesses.

Retaining a respected San Diego criminal defense attorney with a track record of success will prove invaluable to those accused or charged with a white-collar crime like embezzlement, money laundering, insurance fraud, tax fraud, and more.

To discuss the specifics of your white collar crime charges in a confidential, no-strings-attached setting with a top San Diego criminal defense attorney, contact the Law Offices of Anna R. Yum at (619) 233-4433 today.