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The term “white collar crime” originated in 1949 with Edwin Sutherland, a sociologist, who distinguished white-collar crime as people with high-paying jobs and social status distinct from laborers, known as blue-collar workers. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, white collar crime generally describes non-violent fraud crimes, like deceit and concealment, by busines speople and government officials. It includes such crimes as securities fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, public corruption, and other scams and schemes.
In New Jersey, many white collar crimes involve complex financial transactions and documents, and involve government agencies like the Securities Exchange Commission for insider trading or securities fraud, the Department of Justice, United States Attorneys’ Offices, FBI, New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, and legislative committees in state and federal legislative chambers. Local, state, and federal law enforcement task forces typically investigate and prosecute white collar crimes.
Due to the severity of these allegations for a person, their company, and their life as a whole, defendants and suspects in white collar crime investigations cannot begin their defense too soon. Due to the severe personal and financial costs of a conviction, if you have been accused of a white collar crime on a personal or professional level, or you are already facing white collar criminal charges, you are best advised to immediately consult with a white collar defense attorney who is vastly knowledgeable about both federal and state prosecutions of these cases. Preventing the long-term impacts of a white collar crime charge is paramount, and the state or federal prosecution’s case should be reviewed and attacked on an urgent basis.
Requesting assistance from a criminal defense attorney at our firm who handles white collar criminal cases is crucial for preparing an effective defense against the state’s case. With a former Deputy Attorney General for the New Jersey AG’s office as one of our partners, plus attorneys with decades of combined experience handling white collar crime cases for clients in Burlington County, Camden County, Gloucester County, and throughout Southern New Jersey, our criminal defense lawyers at Proetta, Oliver, & Fay can review and analyze complex financial documents and data to find chinks in the prosecutorial armor. We are also very comfortable handling finance experts as witnesses on direct or cross-examination to create confusion and doubt in a jury. Overall, our commitment is to stay engaged and on top of your case immediately and proactively, with the intention of reducing the consequences, mitigating the ramifications for your personal and professional life, and if possible, getting the case dropped altogether. Contact us at 609-850-8284 for a free consultation today.
The object of white collar crime is to gain money, business or personal advantage, or avoid losing money. In New Jersey, fraud may include cybercrime, tax evasion, copyright infringement, counterfeiting, Ponzi schemes, bribery, insider trading, mail fraud, payroll fraud, mortgage fraud, and tax evasion, to name a few. However, fraud covers a wide range of activities considered deceit or concealment, which all may become a part of a white collar crime investigation.
For example, physicians who commit fraud by overbilling Medicaid or other healthcare insurers commit white collar crimes. But even a single check fraud incident is a white collar crime by a business executive. Other examples include elaborate corporate schemes to bury lavish executive spending and company losses by false accounting records and disguised transactions to hide the actual picture from investors and to pay lower taxes.
One local investigative agency, the Burlington County Financial Crimes Unit, handles criminal economic complaints before prosecution through the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. It investigates and screens criminal complaints involving white collar crimes. A unit of the Prosecutor’s Office, the small Financial Crimes staff coordinates with all local, state, and federal investigative agencies that pursue fraud crimes. This small prosecutorial and law enforcement unit issues Grand Jury subpoenas and prepares the preliminary review and investigation of an economic crime case.
Preparing a case, they compile financial documents, analyze data, and conduct interviews. They also coordinate with the many victims and track the losses typically associated with white collar crime. Additionally, the unit works with Burlington County prosecutors, the state Attorney General’s Office, the county social service board, and the criminal and consumer agencies that protect victims of economic crime. They also handle internet criminal fraud complaints from the FBI-sponsored Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Although various white collar crimes come with varying penalties, convicted individuals may expect jail or prison sentences. For instance, fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion are all indictable crimes, meaning convictions for these offenses result in prison terms ranging from 18 months to 20 or more years, depending on the severity of the crime in terms of the number of victims and dollar amounts involved. Non-indictable offenses, called disorderly persons offenses, result in up to six months in jail and $1,000.00 in fines. These are very uncommon in white collar crime investigations, which often require extensive time and resources to investigate, compile evidence, and prepare a case for prosecution.
Some white collar crimes range in degrees from less severe to extremely severe. For example, passing a bad check from a closed account or one with insufficient funds may result in a disorderly persons offense or a second, third, or fourth degree crime. When the check amount is $200.00 or less, it is a disorderly persons offense. However, between $200.00 and $1,000.00 constitute a fourth degree crime, punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000.00 fine. A third degree bad check crime occurs when the amount ranges between $1,000.00 and $75,000.00. A conviction results in a possible five-year prison term and a $15,000.00 fine. Anything over $75,000.00 is a second degree crime carrying a maximum ten-year prison sentence and a $150,000.00 fine.
Other consequences of a white collar criminal convictions are house arrest, probation, and restitution. A judge may sentence a defendant to house arrest instead of jail or prison for first-time or lesser offenses. An individual on house arrest wears an electronic ankle bracelet that monitors their location. Typically, house arrest means confinement to one’s residence, with exceptions to travel locally for work and necessities. Probation also is a form of out-of-prison detention that requires the convicted individual to report to a probation officer and adhere to specific housing, social, employment, or Internet restrictions. Sometimes, house arrest and/or probation comes after a convicted defendant serves time in state or federal prison, depending on the charges in their case.
Finally, a white collar criminal sentence usually includes restitution payment. A convicted individual must pay damages to victims in addition to fines. These amounts can number in the hundreds of thousands.
The state penalties for white collar crimes are steep. However, white collar crimes may result in both state and federal criminal charges and convictions. And while federal convictions also result in fines, house arrest, probation, and restitution, federal prison sentences are typically longer for serious offenses, and the defendant pays prosecution costs. A white collar crime that involves interstate criminal activity, the banking system, antitrust violations, or a federal agency is prosecuted in federal court. Our dedicated legal team skillfully handles investigations, defense, and every facet of cases involving federal white collar crimes.
Ultimately, some of the significant repercussions of a white collar criminal conviction are not from the judicial system. A convicted individual may find limited employment and housing opportunities after a conviction. A criminal record may even affect their future relationships. Preventing the results of an indictment and subsequent conviction is beyond important, as your life may change permanently for the worse if you fail to do so as the subject of a white collar crime investigation.
At Proetta, Oliver, & Fay, our team can help defend you from day one and will not stop until your case is resolved. With working relationships with federal and state prosecutors, we often assist clients to obtain a plea bargain or entry into a diversionary program, if applicable. Our attorneys can also be instrumental in securing probation rather than incarceration or a not-guilty verdict at trial. If you are the target of an investigation for white collar crimes in Burlington County or elsewhere in Southern New Jersey, contact our law office today for a free consultation. Our lawyers are ready, willing, and able to help. We provide free in-depth consultations, so if you would like to speak to one of our attorneys about your white collar crime case, please contact us directly at 609-850-8284.
Our phones are answered 24 hours a day. We are available weekdays during business hours. We also meet with clients on evenings and weekends by request. We have four office locations conveniently located in Jersey City, Edison, Middletown, Cranford, Burlington, and Hamilton. All major credit cards are accepted.
525 Highway 73,
Suite 104, Marlton,
New Jersey 08053
Phone: 609-850-8284
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100 Horizon Center
Boulevard, Hamilton,
New Jersey, 08691
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3828 River Road,
Suite A, Point Pleasant,
New Jersey 08742
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180 Kings Highway,
Middletown Township,
New Jersey 07748
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