Chicago White Collar Crime Attorneys
White Collar Criminal Defense
Team Lead
If you or your business is suspected of committing a federal financial crime, you need legal representation. The federal white collar crime defense attorneys at Oberheiden P.C. protect businesses and individuals who have been accused of committing a wide variety of federal crimes in Chicago and across the country.
Federal White Collar Defense in Chicago at Oberheiden P.C.
White collar crimes are serious allegations. Just a small sampling of the types of offenses that you can face in Chicago are:
- Antitrust (15 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.)
- Bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344)
- Bribery (18 U.S.C. § 201)
- Computer fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1030)
- Counterfeiting (18 U.S.C. § 2320)
- Credit card fraud (15 U.S.C. § 1644)
- Embezzlement or theft (18 U.S.C. §§ 641 et seq.)
- Forgery (18 U.S.C. §§ 470 et seq.)
- Healthcare fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1347)
- Insider trading
- Insurance fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1033)
- Investment and securities fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1348)
- Mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341)
- Obstruction of justice (18 U.S.C. §§ 1501 et seq.)
- Perjury (18 U.S.C. § 1001)
- Tax fraud (26 U.S.C. § 7206)
- Wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343)
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Many of these allegations carry jaw-dropping penalties – sometimes over a decade of prison time – for a single count or conviction.
Worse, they are usually levied by federal law enforcement agencies that have lots of manpower and vast amounts of resources to use to investigate and secure a conviction. Your case may be prosecuted by the:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
In some cases, there will be multiple federal agencies working together on the other side.
Assembling the best defense team that you can find to combat the charges that are being investigated or that have been filed against you is essential.
That is where the federal defense lawyers at Oberheiden P.C. come in.
Our law firm is unique in two different ways.
First, we deal exclusively with federal offenses. This sets us apart from other white collar defense firms, which spend most of their time handling state offenses in state court. The differences between state crimes and federal ones is often underappreciated – including by defense lawyers who generally stay in state court. They quickly find themselves in over their head when facing the might of one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the entire world.
Second, we do not have junior associates on our staff. When you call our law firm, you speak with a senior attorney. This ensures that your needs and cares are addressed and that there are no communication breakdowns between what you tell a member of our firm and what the senior lawyer on your case hears.
Put our highly experienced team on your side
Dr. Nick Oberheiden
Founder
Attorney-at-Law
Lynette S. Byrd
Former Department of Justice
Brian J. Kuester
Former U.S. Attorney
Former DA
John W. Sellers
Former Senior Trial Attorney
U.S. Department of Justice
Local Counsel
Joanne Fine DeLena
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney
Local Counsel
Joe Brown
Former U.S. Attorney & Former District Attorney
Local Trial & Defense Counsel
Amanda Marshall
Former U.S. Attorney
Local Counsel
Aaron L. Wiley
Former Federal Prosecutor
Local Counsel
Roger Bach
Former Special Agent (OIG)
Michael Koslow
Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)
Chris Quick
Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)
Ray Yuen
Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)
Our Senior Lawyers Defend Chicagoans from the Following Offenses
White collar crime allegations come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. With our skilled and experienced defense teams on your side, we can fight back against all of them and protect you and your company from serious legal liability, whether it be civil or criminal.
The following types of white collar crimes are just a few that we have handled in the Chicago area.
Antitrust Violations
As markets get increasingly less competitive with major mergers and acquisitions, federal law enforcement agencies and politicians have taken notice and pushed for more vigorous enforcement of the nation’s antitrust laws. That enforcement, however, reaches further than just big mergers. It also covers allegations of:
- Avoiding competition with competitors
- Big-rigging
- Fixing prices with competitors
- Bundling or tying products in ways that infringe on competition
These are both serious and vague allegations. Lots of normal business practices can create the aura of being anticompetitive in some situations, leading to an invasive investigation and potential charges for antitrust violations.
Mail and Wire Fraud
Criminal charges for mail or wire fraud are serious and difficult to defend against because they do not focus on the allegedly fraudulent activity. Instead, they target your alleged use of the mail, internet, or other telecommunications method to perpetrate a fraud. Despite this seemingly trivial detail, the penalties for a conviction for mail or wire fraud in Chicago can carry up to 20 years in prison. That is on top of the conviction for the underlying fraudulent activity.
Securities Fraud
Brokers and regulated financial firms can also face a wide variety of allegations that fall under the realm of securities fraud, including:
- Embezzlement of funds from clients
- Insider trading
- Investment fraud
- The fraudulent misrepresentation or omission of material information
These offenses can be pursued in civil or criminal court. When charged as a crime, they can carry significant jail sentences. When pursued as a civil case, the financial sanctions can be extremely steep.
Healthcare Fraud
Healthcare providers in Chicago can face a host of federal allegations regarding the fraud and waste of healthcare funding. Law enforcement agencies are especially likely to get involved when federal sources of healthcare funding from Medicare or Medicaid is involved. While healthcare fraud can take a variety of forms, it often involves:
- Providing medically unnecessary care
- Upcoding the care that was provided so it can be billed at a higher rate
- Billing for services that were not provided
When the funding came from Medicare or Medicaid, it is often CMS that initiates the investigation before turning it over to the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) or to the DOJ to pursue civil or criminal charges. Even if a law enforcement agency declines to get involved, whistleblowers may still pursue civil liability for healthcare fraud or waste under the False Claims Act.
Conspiracy
Merely conspiring to commit any of these white collar offenses in Chicago is itself a crime. If you failed to commit a fraudulent act or even if you aborted before the alleged misconduct was completed, you could still face a serious allegation of conspiring to commit the offense.
Frequently Asked Questions About Federal White Collar Defense in Chicago
Can White Collar Crime Allegations Turn Into Civil Cases?
Yes, and that is an important aspect of defending against white collar crimes that many defense lawyers overlook. The difference between a crime and a civil case is the potential for jail time. However, defending against a criminal allegation of a white collar offense should not be so focused on avoiding jail time that you completely expose yourself to civil liability. Civil penalties for a white collar offense like securities fraud or healthcare fraud can include paying treble damages – or triple what the misconduct earned. Part of defending against a white collar crime is also defending against the same allegations, should they be reduced to a civil offense. This requires experience and foresight on your defense team.
How Do Many White Collar Investigations Begin?
Generally, white collar allegations begin either when law enforcement agents find something suspicious in your company’s public filings or billing practices, or when someone blows the whistle on alleged wrongdoing at your business.
Both of these common triggers can prove to be a groundless inconvenience for you and your company.
Law enforcement agents do not personally trawl through the millions of pages of information that every corporation in Chicago produces every month. Instead, they will generally use data analysis and algorithms to detect signs of suspicious activity. Those methods, however, are prone to producing false positives that initiate investigations when there is really nothing to be concerned about.
Whistleblowers can be even more frustrating. They are often ex-employees or ex-clients who claim to have access to incriminating evidence. Even when those claims do not prove to be completely groundless, they are frequently exaggerated in ways that are designed to incite the interests of federal law enforcement agents, to the inconvenience of your company and the very real legal threat of liability.
What Penalties are on the Table?
The potential penalties for a conviction for a white collar crime will depend on the specific allegations, as well as on any other criminal convictions you have in your past. However, white collar crimes are generally felony offenses that carry over a year in prison. Some of the most severe include wire or mail fraud, which carry up to 20 years in prison.
Additionally, there are also often criminal fines and restitution to pay, as well as probation to finish once the prison term is up.
When Should I Hire a White Collar Crime Defense Lawyer?
You should hire a defense lawyer as soon as you find out that you are a suspect in a white collar crime case. Ideally, you would get effective federal legal representation as soon as you learn of a potential investigation into your company or your personal conduct. This gives your defense team the time necessary to develop your case, prepare for any charges to be filed, and work with the prosecutors to persuade them that there is nothing worthy of pursuing.
Do Any Law Enforcement Agencies Have a Presence in Chicago?
Yes, many of the federal law enforcement agencies that handle white collar crimes have a strong presence in Chicago. Many of them use the city to house their regional Midwestern office. For example, the DOJ’s United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois is located at 230 South Dearborn Street right in downtown Chicago. This Office is one of the largest in the country and houses nearly every type of enforcement department in the DOJ, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms/Explosives, the Antitrust Division, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and the United States Trustee Program.
Why Don’t You Call Your Law Firm the Preeminent White Collar Defense Firm?
Because we at Oberheiden P.C. would rather let our track record of success and the experience and backgrounds of our attorneys and investigators speak for themselves. All of our personnel have notable experience investigating, prosecuting, or defending against white collar crimes. Many of our investigators have extensive experience as law enforcement agents, working for the same agencies that are pursuing the case against you. Many of our defense lawyers used to work as white collar crime prosecutors for these agencies, as well. Our insider understanding of how these cases are pursued gives us a huge advantage over other defense firms and let us better protect our clients from legal liability.
Contact Oberheiden P.C. for Effective White Collar Defense in Chicago
If you have been charged with a white collar crime or suspect that you are under investigation for one, you need legal representation. Reach out to the federal white collar defense team at Oberheiden P.C. by calling us at 888-680-1745 or by contacting us online today.