Criminal Charges in the Philadelphia Financial Industry

Well, folks, Philadelphia has seen its fair share of white collar crime over the years.

From shady payday lenders to insider trading, financial fraudsters have kept regulators and prosecutors mighty busy in the City of Brotherly Love.

And you know what? These cases just keep on coming. It seems like every other month we’re hearing about some new financial scandal or criminal charges being filed against executives or Wall Street types in Philly and the surrounding suburbs. I swear, it makes your head spin tryna keep track of it all!

Racketeering & Conspiracy

One of the favorite tools in the prosecutor’s toolkit for financial crimes is the good ole RICO statute. Short for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, RICO was originally designed to take down the Mafia. But these days it gets used just as much against white collar offenders.

The main criminal RICO charge is racketeering conspiracy. This means prosecutors are alleging the defendants conspired together to engage in a pattern of illegal behavior for financial gain. Specifically, they have to prove the defendants committed at least two racketeering acts within a 10 year period.

Securities Fraud

When we’re talking financial crime, another common charge is securities fraud under federal law or Pennsylvania’s securities act.

Lotta ways for shifty executives to commit securities fraud, but mostly it boils down to lying to investors or messing with the markets.

Money Laundering

If financial fraudsters just pocketed all their ill-gotten cash, it wouldn’t be too hard for the cops to find. So savvy operators launder that dirty money to make it look legit.

What About Defenses?

Now most white collar defendants ain’t gonna just throw in the towel when facing serious federal charges. They lawyer up with high powered attorneys to fight back hard.

The Bottom Line

Financial crime definitely pays – until you get caught! Then prosecutors hit you with the whole book – racketeering, fraud, tax evasion, money laundering. Now you’re looking at serious prison time and losing all your assets.