A: White collar crimes are not specific classes of crimes labeled by the Florida legislature. The term white collar crime is typically used to refer to certain types of crimes such as those involving theft of money, property or services where the perpetrator employs the use of deception and fraudulent conduct. There is often a large amount of money involved in the fraud or property or services of significant value. They are also often complicated transactions with many victims, many involved parties, co-conspirators and wide-ranging effects that can be felt across various states or countries.

Q: What are some examples of white collar crimes?

A: The following are some, but certainly not all, examples of white collar crimes.

• Blackmail: demanding money or other consideration and threatening to harm someone, injure property, accuse someone of a crime or expose a secret to get it.
• Bribery: offering something of value to improperly influence someone’s actions, opinions or decisions.
• Cell Phone Fraud: manipulating or using a cell phone or service of another, for example, by cloning a cell phone or signing up for a cell phone account using another’s information.
• Computer/Internet Fraud: hacking into a computer system to steal information such as credit card numbers or other financial identity information.
• Embezzlement: wrongfully using for your own use someone else’s money or property that was entrusted to you for another purpose, for instance, wrongfully using an employer’s money for your own use that was in your possession for another purpose.
• Financial Identity Fraud/Theft: obtaining the identification or financial information of a person in order to fraudulently obtain goods or services by, for instance, obtaining someone’s name, address and social security number to get a credit card in that name to use to purchase goods.
• Health Care Fraud: misrepresenting information, such as medical services performed or supplies provided to obtain reimbursement from a health care plan.
• Insurance Fraud: making false statements or claims to an insurance company to deceive them out of money.
• Investment Schemes: falsely holding oneself out as a financial advisor or making fraudulent claims as to expected returns on investments to fraudulently obtain money or property from another.
• Money Laundering: investing or transferring money obtained by illegal means to conceal the source of the funds and make it appear that they were derived from a legitimate source.
• Mortgage Fraud: misrepresenting information on an application for a mortgage from a lender to obtain credit or obtain more favorable credit terms, such as a higher loan amount or a better interest rate.

Q: What is RICO?

A: RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. It is a legislation that was originally designed to deal with offenders who used legitimate businesses to conduct criminal operations, such as those involved in what we traditionally think of as organized crime. However, over the years, the various states, such as Florida, enacted and then amended their own RICO laws and expanded the conduct and people covered by the RICO Act.

Basically, the Florida RICO Act establishes that it is a crime for any person to conduct or participate in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity or receive any proceeds in the operation of an enterprise that are derived from a pattern of racketeering activity, or conspire to do any of the above.

The aspects of the RICO Act are too numerous to discuss here. However, there are certain required elements of the RICO Act that are fairly basic. First of all, while the early RICO laws may have been intended to deal with organized crime, or organizations, current RICO laws can apply to a single person as well as a corporation. Additionally, “racketeering activity” is another way of saying criminal activity. While the early RICO laws dealt mainly with the more serious crimes, today racketeering activity can include a wide variety of crimes, whether serious or not as serious. A pattern does not necessarily mean a long string of criminal activity. Technically, the pattern element can be satisfied by the commission of two or more crimes within a ten year period. Finally, the enterprise element requires the existence of some defined group, although it does not necessarily need to be an actual organization or company.

What constitutes a violation of the RICO Act is not always as clear as some of the more concrete crimes, but it has clearly expanded over the years. Even though the conduct that can come within the RICO Act now includes less serious offenses than before, the penalties for a violation of the RICO Act are extremely serious. RICO indictments, particularly at the state level, are not common, but if have been charged with, or are being investigated for, a violation of the RICO Act, it is very important to speak to a lawyer who is familiar with the RICO laws to help you understand the various elements and begin to prepare your defense.

Q: Who prosecutes white collar crimes?

A: White collar crimes can violate state and/or federal criminal laws. If the crime is more involved and deals with suspects, victims and/or stolen property that cross state or national boundaries, the federal government is typically better equipped to investigate and prosecute these crimes. If the federal government is handling the case, it may be the FBI that investigates the case and the United States Attorney’s Office that prosecutes the case. Some white collar crime cases start out being investigated at the state level by local police or state agencies, and then the case is picked up by the federal government.

Q: Are defendants in white collar crime cases treated any differently than other defendants?

A: it is the job of those in the criminal justice system to treat those who come into the system equally and fairly. There is a perception that those charged with white collar crimes are treated or sentenced less harshly than others for a variety of reasons, one of which is that these crimes do not normally involve violence. For instance, a person charged with a white collar crime who has stolen money may take steps to pay the money back, or pay what is called restitution, to the victims, which to some degree puts the victims close to the position they were in before the crime. This type of activity is often looked upon favorably by the prosecution and the judge when it comes to sentencing and may, but does not necessarily, result in a lighter sentence. Additionally, the victim of a white collar crime may care most about getting his/her money back, and that may be more feasible if the defendant is given a long probationary sentence as opposed to a long prison sentence. Those defendants who have committed a violent crime do not typically have a similar option.

Q: What is "restitution"?

A: Restitution involves the defendant, suspect or target restoring property that he/she has taken from a victim or compensating a victim for a loss he/she has caused. Restitution is made voluntarily or pursuant to a sentence ordered by the judge. Restitution is not the same as a fine that can also be ordered by the judge as part of a sentence. The federal Mandatory Victims' Restitution Act of 1996 provides that victims may be entitled to an order of restitution for certain losses suffered as a direct result of a crime for which a defendant was convicted. Many state and federal laws also require a criminal offender to make restitution to the victim, and the court will order restitution under those laws when the offender is sentenced.

Q: I just want to plead guilty to the crime. Do I really need a lawyer?

A: Yes. You need someone experienced in the law who understands the full implications of the crimes for which you are charged, the possible sentences and penalties you face and the practical ramifications of a plea of guilty to a crime. A lawyer can also help to get you a more reasonable sentence than what you might get if you plead guilty on your own. Additionally, there may be defenses to your case, factual and/or legal, that you are not aware of that call your guilt of the crime into question. You would rarely, if ever, benefit from showing up to court and pleading guilty without the advice of a lawyer first.