White Collar Crime Attorneys

Several federal laws establish anti-money laundering (AML) rules and requirements for financial institutions, investment firms, and other entities. Violations of these laws – including the Bank Secrecy Act, Money Laundering Control Act, and Money Laundering Suppression Act – can lead to DOJ prosecution and criminal penalties.

These laws allow federal prosecutors to pursue charges for a broad range of anti-money laundering offenses. In many cases, prosecutors can pursue charges on a per-violation basis, meaning that those targeted in AML investigations can face numerous counts. We handle cases involving all types of alleged AML violations, including failure to comply with know your customer (KYC) requirements, failure to comply with Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) requirements, and engaging in financial transactions with specially designated nationals (SDNs).

Federal antitrust laws are designed to promote open competition and prevent monopolies that disadvantage consumers. While antitrust violations are often civil in nature, certain violations can lead to criminal prosecution of companies, company executives, and others.

We defend entities and individuals that are facing investigation or prosecution for all types of antitrust crimes. This includes, but is not limited to: participating in conspiracies or entering into contracts that cause an unreasonable restraint on trade; regional and national price fixing; bid rigging and other forms of procurement fraud; customer and territory allocation agreements; monopolistic commercial activities; and, anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions.

Federal law defines the crime of bank fraud as knowingly executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme or artifice to defraud a financial institution, or to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, or other property owned by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises. Examples of acts commonly prosecuted as bank fraud include forging signatures on financial instruments, altering checks, check kiting, and using identity theft to obtain a loan or credit. Under 18 U.S.C. Section 1344, bank fraud carries potential penalties of up to a $1 million fine and 30 years of federal incarceration for each individual offense.

Federal authorities such as the DOJ have been devoting substantial resources to fighting computer and intellectual property crimes in recent years. This includes virtually all forms of fraud perpetrated via the Internet, as well as identity theft, theft of cryptocurrency and other digital assets, and copyright and trade secret misappropriation.

With new tools at their disposal, federal authorities are now well-equipped to investigate and prosecute most types of computer and intellectual property crimes. As a result, avoiding an indictment or sentencing requires in-depth knowledge of the relevant legal and technological issues and a highly strategic approach.

Embezzlement is a white collar offense defined by the act of obtaining funds from a federally-insured financial institution through improper means, including through the misapplication of bank funds. In order to establish culpability for embezzlement under 18 U.S.C. Sections 656 and 657, federal prosecutors must be able to prove that you, as an officer or employee of an FDIC-insured bank, (i) knowingly and willfully embezzled or misapplied funds, and (ii) did so with the intent to injure and defraud the bank. If you have been accused of this crime, contact our white collar crime lawyer today to defend you.

Environmental violations can lead to steep penalties under federal law. Statutes such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) impose stringent requirements, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strictly enforces these requirements throughout the United States.

Through its Criminal Enforcement Division, the EPA works with the DOJ to pursue criminal charges against violators when warranted. While companies that have (and follow) comprehensive environmental compliance programs will often be able to avoid criminal prosecution due to EPA investigations, those that do not can face substantial risks. In many cases, their owners, executives, and employees can face the risk of criminal prosecution as well.

Criminal matters involving the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and federal export/import laws can present significant risks for companies, their owners and their executives. Companies must undertake substantial efforts to comply with ITAR and all other pertinent sources of federal authority, as investigations involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other authorities can lead to swift and vigorous prosecution.

We defend companies and individuals involved in all industries in federal export/import matters. With offices near the Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific Coasts, we have a nationwide presence and are able to handle complex federal export/import matters across the country.

Forgery is the act of falsifying a document with the intent to defraud an individual, financial institution, the federal government, or a private corporation. This includes not only the forgery of signatures on checks and other financial instruments, but the falsification or alteration of any other information on a legal document or financial instrument as well. Under 18 U.S.C. Sections 470 through 514, federal forgery is punishable by substantial fines and up to 20 years of federal imprisonment.

Healthcare fraud includes using a variety of improper means to obtain funds from private insurance companies or from federal healthcare benefit programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare. Federal authorities use numerous different statutes to investigate and prosecute providers suspected of healthcare fraud, including the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the Stark Law. At Oberheiden, P.C., a significant portion of our practice is devoted to representing providers, executives, and shareholders in healthcare fraud matters. Many of our white collar criminal defense lawyers have prior experience within the DOJ focused specifically on healthcare fraud enforcement.

Mail and wire fraud are related federal crimes that are commonly charged in conjunction with other white collar offenses. Both offenses are punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines of $250,000 (for individuals) or $500,000 (for business entities), with these penalties applying to each individual instance of fraud. Under 18 U.S.C. Sections 1341 and 1343, using the U.S. Postal Service, the internet, a cell phone, or any other form of electronic communication in the commission (or attempted commission) of a white collar criminal offense is sufficient to establish culpability for mail or wire fraud. As a result, federal prosecutors will almost always bring charges under these statutes when prosecuting individuals and organizations for other white collar offenses. If you were accused of this fraud, speak with our white collar crime attorney.

Money laundering is the act of using one or more financial transactions to obscure the source or destination of illegally-obtained funds. Similar to mail fraud and wire fraud, federal prosecutors will often investigate and file money laundering charges along with charges for other substantive white collar offenses.

Mortgage fraud involves supplying false information or fraudulent records in order to secure a loan for the purchase of real property. Federal prosecutors have identified several forms of mortgage fraud that will often lead to charges with the potential for severe, life-changing penalties.

These include:

(i) income fraud (overstating income or “borrowing” money from a third-party in order to appear financially-stable),

(ii) appraisal fraud (intentionally overstating or understating the value of a piece of real property), and

(iii) fraudulent disclosure (misstating debts or liabilities, misrepresenting employment status, and falsification of other loan application information).

Potentially, yes. In corporate white collar crime investigations, investigators and prosecutors will closely scrutinize the company’s key personnel and stakeholders as well. Corporate entities do not commit crimes on their own – it takes human action of one form or another in order to commit a white collar crime such as tax evasion, Medicare fraud, or other white collar offense. Typically, prosecutors will seek to bring charges against the company as well as any executives, professionals, board members, shareholders, or other individuals who were involved in the criminal enterprise or activity.

Generally speaking, yes. “White collar crime” is an umbrella term for criminal offenses that are predominantly financial in nature, and federal law imposes severe penalties for each of the specific offenses listed above. These offenses can all be classified as felonies, and they all carry fines and prison sentences that can have life-changing consequences.

Yes. Many federal investigations start out civil in nature. Several white collar offenses, including various forms of healthcare fraud and securities fraud, carry the potential for both civil and criminal penalties. However, the government cannot pursue both – it must choose one or the other – and oftentimes federal agents and prosecutors will pursue civil investigations until they uncover sufficient evidence to transition to a criminal prosecution.

In these types of white collar crime cases, our first priority is to keep the investigation civil in nature. If your investigation is civil, this means that the DOJ is not pursuing incarceration as a form of punishment. It also means that the scope of the allegations against you is limited. However, due to the potential for a civil investigation to become criminal, it is essential for anyone facing a civil investigation to seek the representation of a law firm with substantial experience in federal criminal defense.

Yes. Federal authorities take public complaints of fraud targeting citizens and the government extremely seriously. The DOJ and OIG have an obligation to investigate whistleblower claims of white collar crime that appear to be substantiated. Agencies such as the SEC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also have hotlines where citizens can report suspected instances of white collar crime. As a result, it is not unusual for federal investigations to be launched out of consumer-level complaints (or retributive action by disgruntled former employees), and in many cases, individuals and businesses can face both private civil action and federal white collar criminal prosecution.

We serve clients nationwide, but offer the following pages for more information.

• Texas
  • Austin
  • Dallas
  • Fort Worth
  • Houston
• Miami
• New York City
• Silicon Valley

If you have been contacted by federal agents or prosecutors from the DOJ, SEC Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Office of Inspector General (OIG), or a collaborative law enforcement effort such as the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, there are several steps you should take immediately. These include:

• Seek immediate legal representation
• Refuse to provide any information unless advised to do so by your legal counsel
• Instruct your employees to only respond to requests for information as specifically directed
• Assess whether any internal remedial action may be necessary
• Execute a coordinated defense strategy designed to resolve the investigation as quickly and favorably as possible

The grand jury subpoena is issued to help with grand jury investigations and is one of the federal government’s most powerful tools for compelling the disclosure of information during white collar criminal investigations. However, the grand jury subpoena power is not absolute, and there are limits on both (i) the justifications for compelling disclosure, and (ii) the volume of disclosure that can be compelled.

If you have received a grand jury subpoena, you need to respond. Ignoring the subpoena could lead to severe consequences – including charges of federal contempt. But, whether your response should be to provide all of the requested information or to challenge the subpoena (either in whole or in part) is a decision to be made with the advice of an experienced white collar criminal defense lawyer.

Most likely, yes. Federal agents use a variety of tactics to solicit information from the targets of white collar investigations, and this includes attempting to minimize the apparent severity of the situation. For example, it is a common tactic to schedule “interviews” without informing the target of the reason for the inquiry (and without explaining that compliance is not legally required). As a result, if you have been contacted by any federal agency that is involved in the prosecution of white collar offenses, you need to take your situation extremely seriously, and your first step should be to seek experienced legal representation.

If you are facing a federal investigation or felony charges for a white collar offense, it is imperative that you choose a law firm that has specific and substantial experience with your type of case. Other factors to consider include:

• Do the firm’s lawyers have prior experience as federal prosecutors handling white collar cases?
• What is the firm’s track record in federal white collar investigations and prosecutions?
• Does the firm have a team of experienced attorneys who combine their knowledge and skills; or, will your case be handled by a single lawyer with a substantial caseload?
• Are the firm’s lawyers accessible 24/7, and are they available to travel as necessary to meet the demands of your case?
• Does the firm offer free case assessments, and are the firm’s lawyers able to answer your questions during your initial consultation?