People commit white collar crimes every day – many of which are done unintentionally. The best way to protect yourself from being charged with a white collar crime is to know what the most common areas are for problems.Here are some of the most common:
1. Bankruptcy fraud
Bankruptcy is a great relief for many people who have accumulated a ton of debt. People have many options for bankruptcy – Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy are often taken by individuals. Filers have to include many details about their income and assets while filing bankruptcy, missing these details or purposefully excluding them could result in a fraud case against them.
2. Ponzi schemes
Ponzi schemes, named after Charles Ponzi, are low-investment/high-reward schemes that bilk unsuspecting investors. Ponzi schemes intend to rope people in with the promise of big benefits – but only early investors are likely to see rewards, while late investors don’t profit. They’re basically pyramid schemes.
3. Extortion
Extortion may occur when someone cons others into giving them property, assets or money through intimidation or coercion. People, such as the mafia, may convince someone to pay them protection money. Another example would be coercing a politician into political “favors” in exchange for keeping secrets from the press.
4. Insider trading
Insider trading may occur when someone invests in a market knowing they’ll make a profit because of information that isn’t publicly known. A person may purchase stock knowing that stock will rise in price because of a deal being made that hasn’t been announced yet. If you’re being accused of a white collar crime, you may need to know your options. The sooner you begin your defense strategy, the better
Christopher St. John
Tess Berkowitz