White-collar crimes are defined as crimes committed by persons of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation. White-collar crimes crossover into corporate crime because there is more opportunity for corruption among well-placed corporate employees that have accesses to funds and corporate accounts as opposed to lesser-ranked employees with limited access to sensitive financial information. A white-collar criminal defense lawyer is specifically trained to defend his/her clients against accusations of insider trading, embezzlement, fraud, bribery, computer crime, and forgery. These types of crimes incorporate a wide variety of fraud and schemes and are more accessible to white-collar employees and well-positioned management staff, as well as business and government professionals.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), white-collar crimes are illegal acts that are notable for their use of deceit, concealment, and/or violation of trust. White-collar crimes are not dependent upon the application or threat of physical force or violence.
White-collar crimes or corporate crimes are committed to advance the personal interests of the perpetrator or for the benefit their company. They are referred to as crimes of opportunity because in most cases the architect of the scheme has to have accesses to privileged information or well positioned to have the opportunity to commit the crime. They can include overcharging for services, cheating clients, stock frauds, price fixing, false advertising, altering financial records (cooking books), etc.
A white-collar criminal defense lawyer can help defend a client from such allegations as:
A white-collar criminal defense lawyer should be specially trained to defend his/her clients from allegations of any type of corporate crime. White-collar crimes are investigated by the FBI and are prosecuted in federal courts so a white-collar criminal defense lawyer should be well versed in federal law. Get a free consulatation with a criminal defense attorney if you or someone you know is being accused of a white collar crime.