Blog
What legal defenses work best in white collar crime cases?
Contents
Legal Defenses for White Collar Crimes
White collar crimes are non-violent offenses that involve using deception to obtain money or avoid losing it. These crimes include things like bribery, embezzlement, fraud, forgery, and money laundering. White collar criminals are often business professionals or government employees who abuse their positions of trust.
When charged with a white collar crime, it’s critical to have an experienced defense attorney on your side. The penalties can be severe – fines, restitution, prison time, probation, community service. You need to fight the charges with strong legal defenses. Here are some of the most common and effective strategies criminal defense lawyers use:
Entrapment
This defense claims you were unfairly induced or coerced into committing a crime by law enforcement. Like if an undercover agent pressured you into bribery or fraud. You have to show you had no predisposition to commit the crime and would not have done it if not for the persuasion of police. This is a valid defense against white collar charges like bribery, money laundering, and racketeering. But it can be hard to prove entrapment – you need evidence of police overreach.
Lack of Intent
Many white collar crimes require prosecutors to prove you acted “willfully” or with intent to defraud. Your lawyer can argue you made an honest mistake or error in judgement, but lacked criminal intent. This works for tax evasion, wire fraud, identity theft, etc. You may be able to show you were unaware of regulations or there were mitigating circumstances. This can get the charges reduced or dismissed.
Illegal Search and Seizure
If evidence against you was obtained illegally, your attorney can file a motion to suppress it. Like if police searched your home or office without a warrant, or seized documents protected by attorney-client privilege. Getting evidence thrown out can cripple the prosecution’s case. This works for financial crimes, tax evasion, and other white collar offenses with a paper trail.
Statute of Limitations
Every crime has a time limit for prosecutors to file charges. For federal white collar crimes it’s usually 5 years. If the statute of limitations has expired, the charges could get dismissed. This defense works well for financial fraud, embezzlement, bribery, and other crimes that went undetected for years. You just need proof the activity occurred beyond the statutory deadline.
Intoxication
You may be able to claim you were too impaired to form criminal intent. Like being drunk or on drugs during an act of embezzlement or fraud. Voluntary intoxication rarely gets charges dismissed, but it could help reduce penalties or be a mitigating factor at sentencing. This works best for crimes that require specific intent.
Coercion and Duress
This argues you were forced to act illegally against your will, like by threats of violence. If you can prove you had a reasonable fear your life was in danger, it could nullify charges of bribery, money laundering, fraud, etc. Just claim you were under duress from bosses, clients, or partners and had no choice but to comply. The threat needs to be imminent though. Fear of getting fired doesn’t qualify.
The key is having an experienced white collar crime attorney who knows how to build a strategic defense using these and other tactics. They will investigate the charges, look for procedural flaws and supress evidence if needed. They can also negotiate plea deals or alternative resolutions that minimize penalties. Don’t go it alone against federal prosecutors – hire a lawyer to protect your rights.
With the right defense strategy, many white collar charges can be defeated or reduced to more favorable outcomes. Just remember – admit nothing, cooperate sparingly, and make prosecutors prove their case. And never underestimate the power of a good defense lawyer to attack the charges.