White Collar Criminal Defense
Top rated Florida, white collar criminal attorney Eric Lanigan and attorney Roddy Lanigan handle State and Federal white collar criminal cases for clients.
Whether you’re pursuing a case against someone who committed a white collar crime against you or you’ve been accused of committing a white collar crime, you should immediately talk with the Lanigans.
White collar crime is criminal activity in a business environment not involving physical violence or a weapon usually involving financial deceit. White collar crimes focus on money, fraud, hiding, stealing, deceiving, or abusing positions where money and finances are handled.
It’s devastating and there are many cases where people lose their life savings. White collar crime affects family businesses, investment funds and professional organizations and non-profits.
White collar crimes are increasingly occurring and being prosecuted in Florida with cases including:
- Antitrust violation
- Bankruptcy fraud
- Internet fraud
- Counterfeiting
- Credit card fraud
- Embezzlement
- Espionage
- Extortion
- Financial advisor
- Insider trading
- Investment losses
- Investor deceit
- Misappropriated funds
- Stockbroker misconduct
- Ponzi schemes
- Professional licensure misdeeds
- Senior citizen scams
- Tax fraud
If you have been the victim of a white collar crime or you’re trying to defend yourself from white collar criminal prosecution, the Lanigans have litigated both sides and have many years experience in court in front of judges and juries.
White Collar Crime White collar crime is often inflicted on seniors and retirees in Florida. White collar crime is frequently in the news today involving world crime rings that hack people and large corporations through the Internet. Hackers are stealing funds digitally and take credit card numbers to support online theft and identity theft.
White Collar Crimes
White collar crime involves some aspect of business that was intentionally fraudulent whether it be a Ponzi scheme among acquaintances and investors, or financial misrepresentation and deceit involving securities fraud such as insider trading. White collar crimes include:
- Bankruptcy Fraud
- Embezzlement
- Financial Advisor
- Insider Trading
- Investment Losses
- Stock Broker Misconduct
- Ponzi Schemes
- Professional Licensure Misdeeds
- Senior Citizen Scams
- Tax Fraud
Trend to Criminalize Activities
Over the last 25 or 30 years there’s been a huge trend to criminalize activities in the areas of white collar crime. In the past, these activities might have been illegal and wrong and usually would get you involved in a lawsuit.
But today, you can go to jail for these activities.
If you’re monitored by a department of professional regulation for insurance or investment licensing, real estate licensing, and they come in and charge you with a criminal violation of the state law regulating your particular industry, you will be facing more than fines. You may go to jail.
What is White Collar Crime?
White collar crime tends to involve some aspect of breaking business laws to obtain money, position, property or assets illegally. “White collar” crime was named from the idea that people committing the “white collar crime” historically wore white shirts, coats and ties and worked in businesses.
White collar criminal attorneys Eric Lanigan and Roddy Lanigan have litigated, defended and fought many white collar criminal cases over the years. There are several stories in the media talking about cases in which the Lanigans defended clients.
The History of White Collar Crime
The History of white collar crime? Well it basically comes from back in the days when we had a distinction between blue collar and white collar. Blue collar was the bricklayer, the auto mechanic, the plumber.
White collar was associated with people who wore a white shirt and a tie to work. Business people, bankers, shopkeepers, lawyers, engineers. All of those would fall into the white collar category.
White collar crime was basically a name that came to reflect that genre of crimes that would be committed in the context of their white collar job.
If regular crime would be considered armed robbery, auto theft, burglary, murder, rape, those types of crime that generally involve some type of physical violence.
Whereas white collar crimes are those kinds of crimes that occur typically in a business environment.
Common White Collar Crimes
The most common white collar crimes are Ponzi schemes where the criminal gets people to invest in bogus deals that aren’t really real: or are robbing Peter to pay Paul. Stock manipulations would generally come under the guise of white collar crime. Embezzling from your company would be considered a white collar crime. All of those things that typically happen are criminal conduct that happens within a business environment.
White Collar Crimes:
- Ponzi Schemes
- Stock Fraud
- Bankruptcy Fraud
- Embezzlement
- Money Laundering
- Extortion
- Senior Scams
White Collar Crime is Non-Violent Crime
Roots are in Deceit, Fraud and Manipulation
Or if you want to be even broader than that, white collar crime is a non-violent type of criminal activity that typically has its roots in a non-gun or knife or a fist. But has its roots in deceit and fraud and manipulation.
White collar crime has expanded dramatically over the last 50 or 60 years and a lot of it has occurred due to the almost explosive increase in the number of activities that have been redefined as criminal.
White Collar Federal Crimes
And that has happened particularly at the Federal level with federal laws in making those types of activities which in the past have subjected you to a civil lawsuit for fraud or deceit or misrepresentation and those activities have now become criminalized.
Skip Lawsuit and Go Directly to Jail
So now you face criminal charges for the same type of activity whereas before it might cause you to get sued, it might cause you to get a multimillion dollar judgment against you but you didn’t go to jail because of it. But as more and more things become criminalized and generally those activities which are now being defined as criminal in that white collar activity arena.
