...involve the use of deception to illegally obtain money, property, or services, or to secure a business or professional advantage. Persons who typically commit white collar crimes include business people, entrepreneurs, public officials and professionals.

The term “white collar crime” was made popular by American criminologist Edwin Sutherland in 1940 when he released his paper “White Collar Criminality”. At that time, the term referred to illegal acts committed by middle or upper class persons relating to their occupational or business pursuits. Today, any non-violent and sophisticated economic crime qualifies as a white collar crime.

Here’s the Problem:

Often, executives find themselves charged with a white collar crime after they make a simple mistake. And since white collar crimes do not involve violence, drugs or police chases, the person charged with a white collar crime may not take the matter seriously. This is a huge mistake, which executive may not realize until he finds himself in prison.

In cases of white collar crimes, the person may have been charged due to a simple mistake or misunderstanding. In most cases, before the crime is considered a white collar crime, you must act with intention and the motive is usually for profit.

If you have been charged with a white collar crime -- or if you’re being investigated or questioned about a white collar crime -- now’s the time to hire a criminal defense lawyer.

Examples of White Collar Crimes Include…

• Anti-trust violations
• Bank fraud
• Bankruptcy fraud
• Black market operations
• Bribery
• Commodities violations
• Computer crimes and fraud
• Credit card fraud
• Customs violations
• Embezzlement
• Environmental violations
• ERISA fraud
• Extortion
• Financial institution irregularities
• Forfeitures, civil and criminal
• Government contract crime
• Government procurement fraud
• Health care fraud
• Insurance fraud
• Interstate transportation of stolen funds or funds procured by fraud
• Larceny
• Loan sharking
• Mail fraud
• Medicare/Medicaid fraud
• Money laundering
• Obstruction of justice
• Pension fraud
• Perjury
• Price fixing
• Racketeering, civil and criminal
• Real estate and investment advisory fraud
• Securities fraud
• Stock market irregularities and RICO
• Tax evasion, fraud and crimes
• Telemarketing fraud
• Venture capital fraud
• Wire fraud
• Workers’ compensation fraud

What Makes Up White Collar Crimes?

The principles of criminal liability apply to white collar crimes. Each crime requires a bad act, a criminal intent and causation. Likewise, defenses that apply to all crimes apply to white collar crimes as well, including incapacity, insanity, intoxication and duress.

White collar crime defendants often rely on the defense of entrapment. Entrapment refers to situations when the government has enticed a person to commit a crime he or she would not have otherwise committed. Entrapment is usually viewed by the courts through the eyes of the defendant. Often, to determine whether the defendant has been entrapped, the defense lawyer’s focus becomes the defendant’s propensity to commit the crime.

Prosecution and Penalties

Federal laws that cover business activity govern many white collar crimes. White collar crimes can be prosecuted at the federal or state level, depending on whether a federal or state law has been violated. Penalties vary, but in some cases can result in large fines, restitution, and jail time.

Historically, white collar offenders usually faced the loss of position and public trust, loss of their professional license, fines and restitution. Prison sentences were rarely imposed or served. But, in recent years, the situation has changed in federal prosecutions. Now, due to the enactment of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, many more white collar criminals serve time in prison.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys usually divide white collar prosecutions into the following segments: (1) Pre-Indictment, (2) Indictment/Trial/Sentencing, and (3) Appeal.

Criminal Defense Attorney Kevin Stockstill represents individuals and corporations that have been accused of…

Antitrust Offenses.
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice handles the investigation and prosecution of individuals and corporations that violate the Sherman Act. Typical allegations include price fixing, bid rigging and illegal boycotting.

Bank Fraud.
These investigations usually focus on financial institutions, executives and directors, real estate developers and other borrowers. Bank fraud allegations include bribery of bank officers, misrepresentation of asset value when securing a loan, failure to report currency transactions over $10,000, embezzlement and other schemes to defraud banks.

Bankruptcy Fraud.
As the number of bankruptcies has increased, so too has the number of criminal bankruptcy fraud investigations. These matters involve debtors and related parties, including spouses and lawyers, under investigation for allegedly concealing assets, making false statements to the bankruptcy court, or committing other federal bankruptcy crimes.

Bribery.
The Bribery Act involves bribing public officials and filing false statements. The person offering the bribe and the person accepting the bribe can each receive up to fifteen years in prison. In addition, if convicted under the Bribery Act, both persons can be disqualified from holding public office. For conviction, the government must show that something of value was given, offered, or promised to a federal public official in an effort to influence an official act. The official act does not need to have taken place, but prosecutors do need to show that the official was going to perform the corrupt act. If prosecutors cannot prove the official planned to carry out the corrupt act, they can charge the official with accepting gratuities, which carries a two-year prison term.

Computer Crimes.
Penalties for computer crimes range from one to twenty years in prison, plus fines, and fall into one of seven categories: (1) to knowingly gain access to a computer without authorization for the purpose of obtaining confidential national security information and transmitting it to others, (2) to browse in government or other protected computers in a manner that affects the use of the computer, (3) to gain access to unauthorized financial information from banks or government agencies, (4) to gather information in a protected computer to steal data, (5) to infect a computer with a virus that causes damage to the program, (6) to traffic in passwords across state lines, and (7) to extort by threats to cause damage to a protected computer.

Environmental Crimes.
These include the violation of federal laws governing clean water, safe drinking water, toxic substances, solid waste disposal, pesticide use, clean air, and atomic energy, ranging from environmental testing irregularities to toxic dumping. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigates these complaints and makes its recommendation for prosecution to a special environmental enforcement unit in the Department of Justice. Most crimes require the person to knowingly violate the law. Corporations can be charged and punished when agents acting within the scope of their duties perform the illegal acts.

Federal Program and Contract Fraud.
These include allegations against companies and executives for defense procurement fraud, such as allegations of fraud and illegal gratuities in the performance of public contracts.

The Federal Securities Acts.
These involve allegations of trading on inside information, failing to file required reports or filing false reports. The government must prove a deliberate and intentional act with knowledge of the wrongdoing. Prohibitions against insider trading apply to people who use nonpublic material facts learned in the course of their job to gain a personal advantage over the shareholders of a corporation by buying or selling the corporate stock. The Acts also extends to “outsiders” who uses nonpublic material facts to gain an advantage, including the person who acts on a conversation overheard in an elevator. Violators can receive up to five years in prison.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The 1998 Amendments to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the new Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Convention have increased the reach and scope of the federal anti-bribery statute. At the same time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice have stepped up enforcement efforts dramatically. This trend in increased enforcement activity significantly increases the risk to companies doing business abroad, and makes effective FCPA compliance programs a necessity.

Labor Racketeering and ERISA Violations.
These include both criminal and civil violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and union officials charged with specific labor racketeering violations. For the past 20 years, the U.S. Department of Labor has actively prosecuted ERISA fraud and embezzlement cases. Most of these cases have been brought against union officials and others having fiduciary responsibilities relating to the management or administration of ERISA funds. These include professionals who act as consultants to ERISA funds, such as accountants and attorneys, as well as the labor union officials charged with administering and overseeing the management of these funds.

Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud.
Federal law prohibits the use of the U.S. mail or private carriers to defraud or obtain money, property or services by fraudulent means. Wire fraud involves the use of wire, radio or television to defraud or obtain property by fraudulent means. The punishment for a violation of these laws is up to five years in prison and a fine. However, if the mail fraud affects a financial institution, the punishment is up to thirty years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

Tax Crime.
Tax crimes include the willful failure to file a federal tax return or to pay federal taxes, as well as assisting others in filing false returns. The government must prove that the lawbreaker willfully, voluntarily and intentionally violated a known legal duty. To convict a person of tax evasion, government prosecutors must prove a tax deficiency and an act of tax evasion.

Kevin Stockstill’s White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Kevin counsels individual and corporate clients and witnesses where allegations have been made of white collar crime. His experience as a criminal defense attorney provides him with a unique perspective to counsel and advise clients facing criminal investigations or indictments.

Kevin represents clients throughout the United States in investigations by state and federal grand juries and administrative agencies, and in criminal enforcement proceedings, trials and related civil litigation matters, and on appeal.

Kevin’s principal objective in representing his clients is to resolve allegations at the pre-investigatory or investigatory phase. He has had experience and success in the informal resolution of investigations, without formal criminal action, working with prosecutors and investigators to demonstrate that criminal charges are unwarranted.

Advisory Services: Kevin advises clients prior to any allegation of wrongdoing to minimize criminal liability exposure and to bring his client into compliance with all appropriate laws and regulations. As part of his advisory services, he evaluates company policies and procedures to ensure compliance with statutes to avoid or reduce risk of criminal investigations or charges. In addition, Kevin conducts reviews and analyses to assist corporate clients in complying with the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations.

Investigation Services: In the event that a corporation suspects wrongdoing or impropriety by one of its officers or employees, Kevin is prepared to conduct a confidential internal investigation to assess the nature and extent of the suspected misconduct. He also works with his clients to assess the implications to the company of an employee’s alleged misconduct, criminal or otherwise, and advise company officers on how to handle a matter of non-compliance. In addition, Kevin assists companies in responding to investigations related to business ethics.

Litigation Services: Kevin defends individual and corporate clients against allegations of criminal misconduct in both federal and state courts. He also represents clients during investigations by government bodies that may lead to criminal charges against his client or other individuals or companies. Kevin negotiates with prosecutors and federal agencies, striving to achieve global settlements of civil and criminal cases brought simultaneously by the government. These services include the representation of corporate and individual clients in connection with federal administrative investigations, response to search warrants, state and federal grand jury investigations, state and federal prosecutions, and any resulting appeals. Also, he can represent clients in any parallel or related civil litigation instituted in connection with these criminal proceedings.