A white-collar crime is a non violent type of crime and tend to involve activities of deceit such as bribery, forgery, fraud and embezzlement. There are various types of white collar crime.
Though not limited to the state of Florida, white-collar crimes such as Medicare fraud and life insurance fraud have been known to be common in Florida because of the larger older citizens who retire to the Sunshine state.
- Bribery
Bribery involves paying a person or organization in exchange for favors or a service. The crime of bribery occurs when the person or organization being offered the goods has a public or legal duty not to be influenced.
Quick example: Purchasing a home through a title company would be legal. Paying a property appraiser to lower the value of a property home allowing the property to be purchased at a lower price would be bribery.
- Fraud
Fraud refers to any attempt by a person or organization to make financial gains through deceptive practices or to deprive other individuals of a legal right. You are basically being deceptive including outright lying to get a personal or financial gain
For example, a person claiming to be an insurance agent selling life insurance policies can entice buyers into purchasing an insurance policy and then run away with the funds without providing the policy at all.
It should be noted here that fraud charges can apply to a variety of situations, including government fraud, voter fraud, healthcare, and insurance fraud, and even services fraud.
- Tax Evasion
US citizens all share paying taxes and there are legal ways to minimize your tax burden and a process to pay your taxes. When someone decides to avoid their tax obligation by lying about their finances, they commit tax evasion. You are illegally trying to get out of your tax liability.
Tax evasion can apply to an individual outright refusing to pay their taxes or to avoid a bigger tax bill by misrepresenting their financial situation. Tax evasion can be a particularly tempting ploy in the state of Florida because Florida currently lacks a state tax. It’s not uncommon for companies and other entities operating out-of-state to claim Florida residency to illegally avoid paying the state tax of their true home state.
Another example of tax evasion can involve real estate. Because real estate transactions occur at such high volumes in Florida, it’s possible for individuals to hide or undervalue the worth of homes and income to avoid paying taxes on the properties.
- Money Laundering
Money laundering occurs when funds earned through illegal business transactions have to be disguised as legitimate before going back into the open market.
Suppose an individual earns $1,000 a day selling illegal controlled substances. Because those funds can be traced from a source considered “dirty,” the individual needs a way to make the funds appear to have originated from a “clean” source.
Money laundering generally occurs in three steps:
Step 1 – Placement. The dirty money gets secretly placed into legitimate financial systems.
Step 2 – Layering. Once inside the legitimate system, the dirty money interacts with regular money to the point where it cannot easily be located.
Step 3 – Integration. The laundered money gets withdrawn and the individual can now use the funds freely.
Contact West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyers
To learn more about white-collar crime in the state of Florida, contact Farkas and Crowley P.A. today. We are proud of our experience and track record in defending our clients. Contact us 24/7 at 561-444-9529
