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Even though there is no exact definition of “white collar crime,” it covers a variety of crimes that are already prohibited by state and federal statutes. You might be surprised to find out what counts as a white collar crime—it doesn’t always necessarily involve highly skilled professional individuals or wealthy corporations. In fact, many white… Read More

With the legalization of marijuana an ever growing debate in California, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California has made a surprising announcement that it will begin to prosecute marijuana growers under federal environmental statutes. This is a new and extremely controversial move by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In a recent article in… Read More

White collar criminal proceedings are often complex and multifold: not only can the same underlying crime be tried in both state court and federal court, but it can give rise to criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings. Is the prosecution handled by the state or federal government? White collar crimes can be prosecuted at either the… Read More

Sometimes, it might be unclear to you whether the prosecution in a white collar criminal case is held to the same kind of standards and restrictions as they would be in normal criminal cases. Indeed, in white collar criminal cases, prosecutors have very broad discretion. But there are still strict legal, procedural, and constitutional limits,… Read More

Mortgage fraud may be committed in many ways; perhaps by a single person or sometimes by a large number of individuals who are involved in the entire mortgage process. The most common examples of mortgage fraud as relates to individuals concern the following issues: (i) house flipping; (ii) acting as a straw buyer; (iii) misreporting… Read More

Embezzlement charges are very serious. California law defines embezzlement as “the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted.” A physical act of taking does not need to have been committed. There are four basic elements that need to occur for an act of embezzlement to be established. First, the… Read More

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioners recently voted 3-2 to implement a new rule that allows corporate whistle-blowers to collect as much as 30% of penalties when they report financial wrongdoing.  The rules implement Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The program was created to “reward individuals who provide the agency with high-quality tips that… Read More

Bankruptcy fraud is a white collar crime that may involve such acts as intentionally filing false or incomplete forms, filing multiple times for bankruptcy in multiple states or the bribery of a court-appointed trustee. However, in the vast majority of the cases (close to 70%), the person or company accused of bankruptcy fraud is attempting… Read More

In the state of California, a sentence can be greatly enhanced for a pattern of similar felonies. California’s penal laws contain a provision known as “The White Collar Crime Enhancement” or the “Freeze and Seize” law. In addition to sanctions imposed at the time of conviction, a person can be subject to extra terms of… Read More

Although there is no authoritative definition for it, white collar crime has been prosecuted with increasing frequency, especially in the wake of corporate scandals in the early 2000s and the recent economic downturn. Here, San Francisco white collar criminal lawyer Christopher Morales will explain to you what white collar crime is. Edwin Sutherland first defined… Read More