White Collar Crime and Fraud

Tampa White Collar Crime Attorney

White-collar crime typically involves accusations of fraud or theft by a person of high social status committed during the course of their employment while allegedly motivated by greed. White-collar criminal offenses can include fraud, bribery, embezzlement, forgery, Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), conspiracy to commit RICO, mortgage fraud, health care fraud or computer crimes.

We have represented many professional individuals, including business owners, doctors, accountants, and real estate professionals in a variety of serious white collar crime accusations.

Talk to an Attorney Before you Talk to Law Enforcement

If you have been accused of a white-collar crime, seek the services of a criminal defense attorney before making any statements about the facts of the case to anyone involved with your business dealings or any law enforcement officer.

At the Sammis Law Firm, our criminal defense attorneys represent individuals charged with white-collar crimes, throughout the Tampa Bay Areas, including Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Polk County, Pasco County, Hernando County, Manatee County, Sarasota County and the surrounding areas for the following types of criminal offenses:

1. Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Fraud;
2. Scheme to Defraud;
3. Employee Theft or Embezzlement;
4. Credit Card Fraud - the fraudulent use of a credit card through identity theft;
5. Securities Fraud - involve telemarketing fraud and investment schemes, ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes;
6. Bank Fraud - larceny, employee theft and embezzlement, forgery, mail fraud, money laundering, check kiting schemes;
7. Insurance Fraud - staged automobile accidents, filing false insurance claims, PIP fraud, arson for a false insurance claim, and workers' compensation claim fraud;
8. Mortgage Fraud: providing false information on mortgage documents; home flipping, straw purchases, land flipping; and
9. Florida Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), and conspiracy to commit RICO;
10. Health Care Fraud: fraudulent billing schemes, medicare theft and fraud, Medicaid fraud and Medicare theft, dental fraud, inproper referral services between a clinic and a doctor.

Complex Transaction Procedures

Defending individuals charged with white collar crimes requires knowledge of complex transactional procedures and financial information. For many white-collar crime accusation in Florida we rely on some of the top financial expert witnesses, investigators and forensic accountants to give our clients the best chance of winning at trial or negotiating the best possible disposition of a before trial.

Protecting the Lower Level Participant

The typical white-collar crime consist of a sophisticated and complex scheme involving specialized or technical knowledge. Often these actions are hidden among other legitimate behavior. The crimes are often not detected because the victims of the crimes are diffused among a larger group of people.

The mastermind of the criminal scheme often relies on lower level employees to carry out the dirty work. Without the proper criminal defense representation, the lower level participant may face the same type of prosecution, penalties and punishment as the mastermind of the plan.

Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) crimes and conspiracy to commit RICO charges set out blanket rules for assigning blame in white-collar cases which are often irrational or unjust given the facts of a particular case.

Many people charged with white-collar crimes are respected in their community. Often the crimes begin because of an individual's personal or professional financial difficulties. The white-collar crime often begins as a way to temporarily escape the financial difficulty through fraudulent means.

Defending the White Collar Crime in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

If you have been charged with any white collar crime in the Tampa Bay Area, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at the Sammis Law Firm to discuss your case. Call 813-250-0500 for a free, confidential consultation today to discuss the particular facts of your case and things you need to do today to protect yourself.

Legal Links for White Collar Criminal Defense

Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSP)- The Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSP) in Florida was created in 1986 by the voters of Florida through a Constitutional Amendment to the state constitution. Many white-collar crimes in Florida are prosecuted by the OSP, which oversees organized crime cases that cover several different circuit throughout Florida so the cases are not frustrated by judicial or geographic boundaries.

Statewide Prosecutor - Tampa Office

Chief Assistant: Thomas Smith

Concourse Center 4

3507 Frontage Road, Suite 200

Tampa, FL 33607

(813) 287-7960

Fax (813) 281-5520

White Collar Crime Professor Blog - Member of Law Professor Blogs Nework providing news, information, and resources for the academic community from Professor Ellen S. Podgor of Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)  - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) was established in by the US Department of Treasury to provide intelligence to support the investigation and prosecution of money laundering and other financial crimes. Money laundering involves disguising financial assets as coming from an apparently legal source so they can be used without detection of the illegal activity that produced them.

National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C)  - Non-profit organization dedicated to helping and encouraging law enforcement investigations and prosecutions of high-tech, economic, and white collar crimes.

Information from the FBI about Federal White Collar Crimes - FBI provides information on white-collar crimes such as antitrust, bankruptcy fraud, corporate and securities fraud, health care fraud, identity theft, insurance fraud, money laundering, mortgage fraud, and telemarketing fraud.

White Collar Crime Schemes - List of different types of white collar crime schemes from the National Check Fraud Center.

White Collar Crime Unit - The American Prosecutors Research Institute's White Collar Crime Unit supports technical assistance and training to prosecutors for white collar crimes including cybercrime, internet fraud, telemarketing fraud, and other white collar crime scams.