Tehama County White Collar Crimes Lawyer

When most people hear the word “crime,” they do not immediately picture a clean, well-dressed, professional man or woman sitting in a leather chair behind a walnut desk. However, crimes can be committed by people from all walks of life, and if you’ve recently been charged with a white-collar crime here in California, you should strongly consider retaining the services of a knowledgeable Tehama County white-collar crimes lawyer who can work to shield you from those charges in any way he can. Contact Cohen Criminal Law to schedule your initial consultation with our firm.

Why Hire a Tehama County White-Collar Crimes Lawyer?

Those who’ve been charged with white-collar crimes have a lot on the line. Not only are their reputations and futures at stake, but there is a very good chance that thousands, if not millions of dollars worth of assets are at stake as well. Our Tehama County criminal attorney is here to help fight your charges at every turn.

How Are White-Collar Crimes Defined?

In most cases, white-collar crimes are defined as crimes committed by business executives, government officials, and other people who are placed in a position of power or trust where they have access to funds and other assets. In most cases, white-collar crimes involve theft of these funds or assets on large scales.

Common Types of White-Collar Crimes

“White-collar crimes” is a blanket term to describe a wide variety of crimes, and though there are various types of white-collar crimes not listed here, some of the most common white-collar crimes that our firm sees are as follows:

• Extortion: Extortion is when one party threatens another party to turn over money or assets in exchange for refraining from releasing harmful information about the individual to the public. Essentially, extortion is blackmailing someone to give you money.
• Embezzlement: When someone is in a trusted position within a company, he or she may be in charge of handling company funds and finances. When that person either misappropriates those funds or otherwise takes those funds for his or her own benefit, he or she is guilty of embezzlement.
• Ponzi schemes: Ponzi schemes, which you may very well associate with Bernie Madoff, are schemes wherein an individual promises investors blockbuster offers that often seem too good to be true (this is because they are). These unsuspecting investors will then eventually realize that they never made any money to begin with, and that the individual, in fact, robbed them of their “investments.” When one is found guilty of a Ponzi scheme, he or she may face years of incarceration, among other penalties.
• Corporate fraud: When businesses or corporations falsify information, such as the true value of their yearly revenue, to either save or make money, it is considered corporate fraud. Rather obviously, this is both unethical and illegal, and can entail serious criminal penalties.
• Bankruptcy fraud: While most people use bankruptcy only when they truly need it, this is not always the case, and at times, people or businesses will withhold certain financial documents from the bankruptcy court in an effort to obtain a more favorable outcome. This is bankruptcy fraud, and it may come with various consequences upon conviction.

Penalties for White-Collar Crimes in California

While certain white-collar crimes can be charged as misdemeanors, the majority of white-collar crimes are felonies, which is why, upon conviction, you may face any of the following penalties:

• Years of incarceration
• Having to pay restitution
• Heavy fines
• Supervised release
• Community confinement
• Home detention
• Forfeitures

Contact a Tehama County Criminal Defense Lawyer

Rather obviously, the criminal penalties for a white-collar crime are severe, so no matter the circumstances, you mustn’t delay. Contact Cohen Criminal Law today so our firm can begin mounting the most effective strategy going forward on your behalf.