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What Criminal Actions are Considered White Collar Crimes?

Some of the most common white-collar crimes in Georgia include wire fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, money laundering, embezzlement, and insider trading.

“White collar crimes” is an outdated term for financial crimes. The name refers to the crimes being committed by people with professional jobs (“white collar” jobs, where people dress formally at work, as opposed to “blue collar” manual labor jobs), where they have access to large amounts of money that does not belong to them. Almost any crime that involves stealing money but does not involve physical violence, or the threat of violence, is a white-collar crime. In the case of money laundering, the charges sometimes occur in tandem with drug trafficking, trafficking in weapons, or even sex trafficking, so that even if money laundering is technically a nonviolent offense, it would be an uphill battle to convince a jury that the person accused of doing it is not causing any harm except financial harm. It is possible to receive a long prison sentence after being convicted of a financial crime. The best way to avoid this fate if you are accused of a financial crime is to contact a Norcross white collar crimes lawyer at Zimmerman & Associates.

Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud, and Identity Theft

The lesser financial crimes include wire fraud, mail fraud, and identity theft; it is possible to commit these crimes at any scale. If you call someone and tell them a made-up story to persuade them to wire $500 to your bank account, that is wire fraud, and as an isolated incident, it is a misdemeanor. Some cases of fraud involve stealing millions of dollars from multiple victims over a long period of time, often through conspiracies involving multiple defendants. The difference between wire fraud and mail fraud is the means of communication used to communicate lies to the victim. Identity theft is when the defendant obtains the victim’s financial information through fraudulent means and uses it to make fraudulent transactions without the victim’s knowledge. You do not have to impersonate the victim in all aspects of life to be guilty of identity theft; the prosecution does not have to show the jury a fake driver’s license with your picture and the victim’s name to secure an identity theft conviction.

Money Laundering, Embezzlement, and Insider Trading

Money laundering, insider trading, and embezzlement by nature involve large sums of money. Money laundering is any action taken to disguise the source of proceeds from an illegal operation, such as depositing cash you received from selling illegal drugs and depositing it in the bank account of a restaurant you own to make it seem like it was the cash proceeds of the restaurant’s food sales. Embezzlement is when you steal money from your employer, such as by transferring some of the company’s funds into your personal bank account. Insider trading is when you unjustly enrich yourself on the stock market by basing your investment decisions on confidential information you found out through your job.

Contact Zimmerman & Associates About Your Financial Crimes Case in Atlanta

An Atlanta criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for a financial crime such as identity theft or money laundering. Contact Zimmerman & Associates in Norcross, Georgia to set up a free consultation.