California Financial Crimes Attorney

Choose A Skilled Financial Crimes Lawyer to Assist You In Minimizing The Consequences Of Your Arrest

Are you facing accusations of a financial or white collar crime in California? If so, contact My Rights Law, a reputable criminal defense firm with experience representing the accused in federal and state court on criminal charges, including fraud. Contact our financial crimes lawyer for a free consultation today by calling (888) 702-8882 or getting in touch through our secure web form. We provide a strategic legal defense for your unique financial crimes case.

Contents show

What Are Financial Crimes?

People charged with financial crimes are not just CEOs, investment bankers, and other high level white collar employees. A financial crime is a crime (an act or omission that violates the law) that involves money or the financial system in some way. Read on to learn more about some of the common financial crimes that are charged in California and how a financial crimes defense lawyer can help protect your rights and defend you if you are charged with one of these crimes.

Blackmail Penal Code 518 PC

Blackmail (included under the crime of extortion in California law) occurs when someone illegally gains money or other property from a victim by threatening to reveal information that is damaging to the victim[1]. It does not matter if the information threatened to be revealed is true or not.

Bribery Penal Code 641.3 PC

In California, bribery occurs when someone offers something of value to an executive officer (the leader of a company or other organization) or a public official (someone in the government with authority) in order to get that executive officer or public official to take (or not take) a specific action[2]. For example, offering a city commissioner $100 to vote against a particular initiative is a bribe. Bribery is similar to blackmail in that the goal is to influence another’s behavior. Bribery, however, offers a reward, where blackmail involves a threat. Also, only certain people can be illegally bribed; anyone can be blackmailed or extorted.

PC Extortion Penal Code 518(a)

In California, extortion includes blackmail (as defined above), as well as situations where someone illegally gains money or other property from a victim by threatening physical harm or improper government action[3]. Government officials can be charged in their official capacity, or regular citizens can be charged. If no threat is made, or the victim did not comply because of the threat, there is no extortion.

Embezzlement Penal Code 503 PC

In California, embezzlement occurs when a person steals (referred to as “fraudulent appropriation” in the law) money or other property that has been entrusted to them[4]. Ponzi schemes are one form of embezzlement, but embezzlement can also occur at a much smaller scale with only a small amount of money[5]. For example, if a cashier who was entrusted to deposit the day’s earnings in a bank account were to keep a small portion of the money for their own personal use, they would be embezzling that money.

Identity Theft Penal Code 530.5 PC

Identity theft in California involves using another person’s “personal identifying information” illegally[6]. Personal identifying information includes a person’s name, address, telephone number, identification numbers of all kinds, driver’s license, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers. Examples of identity theft include using another person’s information to open a credit account, take out a loan, make an insurance claim, or commit a crime. Handing a police officer someone else’s identification and claiming it is your own could also be identity theft[7].

Money Laundering Penal Code 186.10 PC

Money laundering occurs when someone uses legitimate transactions to try to conceal the origin of money obtained through illegal activity[8]. For example, stealing cash then depositing that cash in a legitimate bank account would be considered money laundering. In California, the total amount of the transactions over a 7-day period must be greater than $5,000, or transactions over a 30-day period must exceed $25,000, to be charged with money laundering.

Insurance Fraud Penal Code 550(1) PC

Fraud is the false representation of information for personal gain. One type of insurance fraud in California occurs when a person intentionally destroys property with an intent to defraud the insurer[9]. Other forms of insurance fraud in California include making false statements on an insurance application (such as lying to get coverage that you do not qualify for) and making false statements on a claim form (such as exaggerating the value of an item you are making a claim for, or claiming an item was destroyed when it was not).

Mortgage Fraud Penal Code 532(f) PC

In California, mortgage fraud, sometimes called real estate fraud, occurs when someone, during the process of getting a mortgage loan, intentionally makes inaccurate or misleading statements or omits relevant information[10]. You must receive a mortgage or other benefit as a result of these inaccurate or omitted statements in order to be charged with mortgage fraud.

Securities Fraud Corporations Code 25401

To commit securities fraud, you must be involved with securities. Securities are tradable financial instruments, such as stocks and bonds. In California, securities fraud occurs when a person or company manipulates a securities market with false or misleading information[11]. Insider trading, the practice of illegally trading based on confidential information not available to the public, is perhaps the most well-known form of securities fraud, but there are other forms as well. These other forms include Ponzi schemes, high-yield investment fraud, foreign currency fraud, late-day trading, advance fee schemes, and “pump and dump” schemes. Securities fraud is an extremely complex area of California law. If you find yourself charged with securities law, you will want to find an experienced attorney, such as those who work at My Rights Law, right away.

Workers’ Compensation Fraud Insurance Code 1871.4

In California, workers’ compensation fraud occurs when someone, for the purpose of obtaining or denying workers’ compensation benefits, intentionally makes inaccurate or misleading statements or omits relevant information. Helping someone else to commit workers’ compensation fraud is also a form of workers’ compensation fraud[12]. Examples of workers’ compensation fraud include: faking an injury, exaggerating an injury, claiming an injury occurred at work when it did not, and collecting benefits from more than one employer for the same injury.

CalFresh Food Stamps Fraud Welfare and Institutions Code 10980 WIC

Approximately 4.8 million people in California receive food stamps through the CalFresh program. These benefits provide a vital lifeline for many people who are struggling to put food on the table. California also aggressively investigates any accusations of food stamps fraud and will prosecute individuals for receiving benefits they aren’t entitled to.

RICO Penal Code 186.2 PC

RICO stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a United States federal law created to provide additional penalties for crimes committed as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise (that is, RICO was created at the federal level as an additional tool to fight organized crime, such as the Mafia). California has its own anti-racketeering and anti-organized crime law, known as the California Control of Profits of Organized Crime Act, which calls for the forfeiture of assets gained from an ongoing criminal enterprise. Racketeering (also called criminal profiteering) is an extremely serious and complex crime. If you are facing racketeering charges, you will need a highly skilled and knowledgeable attorney in your corner.

Lawyers For Financial Crimes In California

The defense attorney you choose can make the difference between having criminal charges dismissed or being severely punished. My Rights Law’s strong team of criminal lawyers have the resources and experience that enable us to pursue difficult cases yielding favorable results. We protect our clients through our expertise in the law and extensive experience in handling all misdemeanor and felony criminal cases including, but not limited to, alcohol-related crimes, drug crimes, violent crimes, domestic violence, sex crimes, crimes against children, theft crimes, juvenile crime, gun charges, property crimes, cybercrimes, traffic violations, public safety crimes, federal crimes, financial crimes, crimes against the government, crimes against justice, and inchoate crimes. We also specialize in restraining orders, pretrial diversion programs, and expungements.

There are a variety of financial crimes you could be charged with in California. Each of these crimes has various elements that must be proven by the prosecution in order to secure a conviction. Financial crimes cases often involve complex technical procedures that must be followed to the letter. Financial crimes may involve expert witnesses and large amounts of arcane evidence.

If you are accused of a financial crime, you do not have to sort through this difficult situation by yourself. Financial crime criminal defense attorneys know the laws and procedures and the best strategies and tactics for defending their clients.

Protect your rights—if you or someone you know has been accused of a financial crime, contact a lawyer immediately. My Rights Law has years of experience defending clients against financial crimes. To learn more, reach out to My Rights Law by calling (888) 702-8882 or contacting us through our secure form.