White Collar Crime Lawyers in New Port Richey, Florida
Accused of a White Collar Crime?
If you have been accused of a while collar crime, you have a lot at stake. People can run your name through the mud, ruining your personal and professional life. It could be very hard to reconstruct this if you are convicted for a white collar crime.
The best bet for anyone charged with a white collar crime is to hire a lawyer who is professional and knows criminal law the best. Here at Musca Law Firm, located in New Port Richey and other Florida cities, we have over 150 years of collective experience from all our dedicated attorneys. We know the best defenses and what will and will not work in the courtroom.
Call us today at (727) 480-9675 to schedule a free initial case consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.
Musca Law in New Port Richey Defends the Following White Collar Crimes
We at New Port Richey’s Musca Law Firm have experience in representing the following types of while collar crimes:
- Embezzlement
- Money Laundering
- Real Estate Fraud
- Mortgage Fraud
- Banking Fraud
- Credit Card Fraud
- Mail Fraud
- Healthcare Fraud
- Medicare Fraud
- Medicaid Fraud
- Conspiracy to Commit Fraud
- Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO)
Other types of white collar crimes include tax evasion, bribery of public officials, forging documents, counterfeit money or documents, identity theft, copyright infringement, wage theft, insider trading, Ponzi schemes, and cybercrime.
White Collar Crimes in New Port Richey, Florida
White collar crime is defined as a wide variety of crimes that use deceit in order to have some sort of financial gain.
Embezzlement in New Port Richey
Embezzlement is defined as funds that a person has been entrusted with are misappropriated or theft has occurred with these funds. Types of embezzlement include stealing money from a cash register where one works, stealing clothing from a clothing store where employed, or dipping into petty funds at work. If embezzlement occurs from federal funds, the individual will be prosecuted by the federal government.
Depending on what the total sum of funds is embezzled will determine the penalty. Penalties in New Port Richey and the rest of Florida include:
- For funds embezzled that are less than $300, a misdemeanor will be given. It will be penalized with 6-12 months in prison and/or a fine of $500-1,000.
- For funds embezzled that range between $300 and $20,000, a third-degree felony will be charged. Penalties for this include up to $5,000 in fines and up to 5 years in prison.
- For funds embezzled that range from $20,000-100,000, a second-degree felony is charged. Penalties include 15 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
- For funds embezzled that are over $100,000 the individual will face a first-degree felony charge. Penalties include up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
Money Laundering
Money laundering is a white collar crime that will be prosecuted by the federal government. This willful act conceals the origins of illegally obtained money by making it appear to have come from a different source that has serious penalties associated with it if you are convicted you may face up to 20 years in prison. Sources where the money comes from could involve tax evasion, illegal drug sales, fraud, or corruption.
Real Estate Fraud
Real estate fraud occurs when an individual or a group of people use false information in order to take advantage of another party during a real estate sale. Real estate fraud is broken down into two categories: borrower fraud and lender fraud.
Borrower fraud occurs when a person uses false information on their loan applications, which misrepresents a person’s credit. During this time they hid important information. This type of fraud occurs when the borrower is trying to access the title of the property.
Lender fraud occurs during property flipping. Identity theft and false advertising could also occur. It is often referred to as professional fraud. In this type of real estate fraud, the professional is trying to profit from the sale.
Real estate fraud penalties are very serious. Those who are federally prosecuted can expect up to 30 years in prison. Fines could be up to $1,000,000.
Mortgage Fraud
Mortgage fraud occurs when an individual omits, lies, or confuses intentionally when they apply for a mortgage loan. Mortgage fraud can involve laws that are on the state level as well as the federal level.
Mortgage fraud has various penalties that are associated with it. It is generally classified as a felony offense.
Some of the more common penalties for mortgage fraud in New Port Richey and the rest of Florida include a prison sentence. This could be up to 30 years if prosecuted at the federal level. Fines for this will also be very high. Federal offenses could expect to pay as much as $1million.
If any third party has suffered losses for mortgage fraud, restitution could be a penalty. Probation may also be put into place. This typically lasts for one year. However, it could be quite a bit longer for this type of fraud.
Banking Fraud
Banking fraud occurs when any individual uses fraudulent means in order to secure funds or a loan from a bank. It could involve bank executives, corporate professionals and mortgage lenders, but can also be any individual.
This white collar crime has steep penalties. One can expect to pay up to $1,000,000 in fines and/or spend up to 30 years in prison.
Credit Card Fraud
Credit card fraud occurs when an individual buys goods with a stolen credit card. They may also then sell the goods. A credit card can be ATM cards, banking cards, debit cards, credit cards, card checks, or any other type of card related to banking institutes.
Credit card fraud can be charged as a first-degree misdemeanor, in which case penalties would include up to a year in prison and/or a fine of $1,000. They can also be charged with a third-degree felony where the penalties will be up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of $5,000. Previous crimes may also be considered when determining what the penalty for a third-degree felony will be.
Mail Fraud
A federal crime and mail fraud is defined as occurring when a person makes a plan to defraud someone or something to obtain property or money by fraudulent activity, using the post office to further their efforts in succeeding.
Penalties for mail fraud include up to 20 years in prison. If mail fraud happens correlated with a president’s major disaster benefit, or affects any financial institution, the individual will face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1million.
Healthcare Fraud
Healthcare fraud occurs when a person files claims intentionally that it has false or misleading information. Healthcare fraud examples include:
- Performing services that are not necessary in order to receive an insurance payment
- Billing patients for more than the copay for services that were pre-paid
- Billing each step of the procedure is also known as unbundling.
- Falsely diagnosing a patient in order to obtain funds from tests that were ordered
- Utilizes the services of an unlicensed healthcare professional
- Altering the dates on which the services were performed
- Modify medical archives
- Prescribe supplements that are not needed
- Selling prescription drugs for profit
Penalties for healthcare fraud could result in 10 to 20 years of prison time.
Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
Medicare is a program that is operated by the federal government while Medicaid is handled at the state level. Medicaid will be prosecuted by states where Medicare can be prosecuted at the federal level.
Fraud on both of these can include:
- Billing for services that never occurred (also known as phantom billing)
- Billing for services or equipment that is not needed or necessary
- Providing or accepting kickbacks
- Double billing
- Inflation charges
Penalties for both of these will be based on the dollar amount of the benefits that were submitted. These can be classified as a first, second, or third-degree felony.
- First degree (more than $50,000 spent): 30 years in prison and $10,000 in fines
- Second-degree (total spent more than $10,000 but less than $50,000): 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines
- Third-degree (total spending $10,000 or less): 5 years in prison and $5,000 in fines
Florida has its own set of Medicare and Medicaid laws. Under the Florida Statutes, section 409.920, the laws are stated as follows:
- Make any false statements or omit any statements in any Medicaid or Medicare claim;
- Make false claims for goods or services that weren’t authorized by the program;
- Charge, solicit, or accept anything of value for a Medicaid or Medicare service;
- Fail to credit the agency for any payment you receive from a third-party source;
- Make false statements about documents involving your income and expenses;
- Solicit, accept a bribe, or receive compensation for referring a person to a healthcare physician or healthcare facility;
- Solicit, accept a bribe, or receive compensation for obtaining any goods or services that are a part of the Medicaid program;
- Submit misleading information so you are accepted as a Medicaid provider; or
- Use a Medicaid’s provider or recipient’s identification number to make a claim for goods or services that are not authorized to be reimbursed by the program.
Conspiracy to Commit Fraud
A conspiracy to commit fraud in New Port Richey is defined as an implied or expressed agreement between at least two people with an intent to commit fraud.
Depending on what the crime was will depend on how the individual(s) are penalized.
Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO)
Rico is a federal law that provides extended penalties in order to eradicate crime. This law was passed in 1970 by Congress. As per the Florida Statutes, racketeering is defined as “any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.”
Penalties for racketeering include up to 20 years in prison.
How Penalties For White Collar Crimes Are Determined
Various factors can be used to determine what the penalties for white collar crime are. The following elements are considered:
- The value or amount of money that was stolen or misappropriated
- The criminal history of the individual
- The identity of the victim. Florida law states that the elderly and disabled increase the punishment on these victims.
- How many people were involved in the white collar crime? If there were quite a few people involved, the offense would be labeled as more serious.
- Other factors are also considered for each individual case.
The first degree felony charge is the most serious white collar crime penalty. For any crime, you could be ordered by a judge to pay restitution to the victims. The Florida White Collar Crime Victim Protection Act will provide the nature of the consequences if one is convicted of a white collar crime.
Charged with a Criminal Offense? Call Musca Law at (727) 480-9675!
If you or a loved one have been charged with any criminal offense, including a white collar crime, Musca Law Firm here in New Port Richey would love to hear from you. Our attorneys will provide you with the best possible experience to make your case less stressful.
We will begin by offering a free consultation to determine if we are the correct fit for your case. We are positive that we will be as we take the time to listen to your side of the story. We will gather any facts about your case that we need and develop a defense that is strong. The weaknesses of the prosecution’s case can be exposed by our hard fighting lawyers.
Please call us today to schedule your appointment. We will work with you and fight for your rights.