NYC Falsifying Business Records Lawyers
For a business of any kind to be successful, it will need to be able to keep clean and accurate accounting books. This will allow them to make good business decisions and pay their fair amount of taxes. While it is a good business practice and will be necessary in order for a business to succeed, it is also a requirement under the law. Falsifying business records with intent is a crime that could result in severe financial penalties and even jail time for those that are convicted. Specifically, falsifying business records is covered under sections 175.10 and 175.05 of the New York Penal Law code.
What is Considered Falsification of Business Records
Overall, falsifying business records is considered a very serious crime that can be considered a felony, even if it is limited to just one or two isolated incidents. In order for you to be found guilty of this crime, the prosecutors will need to provide that you intended to defraud some other party with your falsified documents. The falsification can be as small as making a change to one number in a document and can also include not providing someone with necessary paperwork that could alter their business decisions.
When you are charged with falsification of business records, you could also face other times of charges as well. If the falsification of business records resulted in your underreporting your business income, you could be charged with federal tax evasion. If the falsification of records were used to help you obtain a business loan or money from investors, you could be charged with bank fraud and wire fraud as well. There are also situations in which you could be charged with grand larceny.
Potential Penalties and Severity of Charges
For those that are charged with falsification of business records, the ultimately severity of the charges can be extreme. In most situations, the total potential penalty will be based on the overall scope and severity of the fraud as well as there were people that incurred losses because of your fraud. Depending on the size, you can be charged anywhere with a Class A Misdemeanor all the way up to a Class E Felony. A simple misdemeanor will normally result in a small fine and the requirement to pay restitution. Those that are charged with a felony will be hit with more significant penalties and could even spend up to one year in jail.
Depending on the scope of the crime, you could also be charged with tax evasion, bank fraud, wire fraud, or a variety of other charges. In these situations, you may be facing even more severe penalties that could increase the fine you have to pay or even lead to an extended sentence in prison.
Who is Charged?
Falsification of business records is an interesting charge because there are a variety of people that could be charged. In general, those that are knowledgeable about the fraud and benefited from it could be charged. This can often include the owners of the business, the CFO of the organization, and even staff accountants that were responsible for preparing the fraudulent statements.
Defense Strategy
If you are charged with business record falsification charge, there are a number of ways you could go about fighting the charges. One of the most common forms of defense include stating that you did not know that you were committing fraud. Those that are charged can state that they simply made a mistake when preparing financial statements or when not providing important information. Since intent can be hard to prove, this is often a good strategy. However, you could still face financial penalties associated with the charge if your negligence led to the loss for others.
When you are charged with this crime you could also fight to say that your rights were violated. In order to build this case, the police officers and investigators will need to complete a lot of analysis and work and obtain a lot of information. If they obtained any of the most important details and evidence illegally, you could have the charges and evidence thrown out. However, you could still face civil charges related to the financial loss.
Legal Support
If you are charged with falsification of business records, it is always a good idea to hire an attorney that specializes in defending these types of charges. An attorney that knows this law well will be able to work with you to come up with a good defense strategy that could be used to have the charges dropped entirely. The attorney will also be able to work with prosecutors to negotiate a smaller charge. Since there is such a wide range of charges that can come along with this crime, taking a plea deal is often the best option.