Roanoke White-Collar Crime Defense Lawyers
The seriousness of white-collar crimes may not be obvious. They are nonviolent offenses, yet their impact is significant and their stakes are high. A conviction can lead to severe penalties and irreversible damage to personal and professional reputations. Often, these charges risk a lengthy prison sentence and/or high-dollar penalty.
If you are facing charges or are under investigation for a white-collar crime, contact our award-winning legal team at Fishwick & Associates PLC in Roanoke. Our criminal defense lawyers have over 85 years of combined legal experience in Virginia federal courts. We understand the complexities of these cases and are ready to build a strong, effective defense.
Frequently Asked Questions For White-Collar Crime
It’s not uncommon to have questions running through your mind when facing a white-collar criminal charge. Here are answers to frequent questions we receive from our clients:
What are examples of white-collar crime?
White-collar crimes are generally characterized as nonviolent criminal activities of a financial nature involving deception or fraud. They are often federal charges, making the legal process complex and daunting.
Our criminal defense attorneys can defend you against any type of white-collar criminal offense accusation, including:
- Embezzlement
- Environmental crimes
- Fraud and other crimes of deception, including:
- Accounting fraud
- Bank fraud
- Corporate fraud
- Credit card fraud
- Health care fraud
- Insurance fraud
- Mortgage fraud
- Securities fraud
- Tax fraud
- Money laundering
- Public corruption
- Racketeering (RICO violations)
- Tax evasion
What are some of the most common white-collar crime punishments?
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), common punishments for white-collar crimes include:
- Fines: Offenders may be required to pay substantial fines for their illegal activities.
- Home detention: In some cases, those convicted of white-collar crimes may be placed under home detention, restricting their movement outside specified hours.
- Community confinement: Offenders might be permitted to serve their sentences in community confinement facilities instead of traditional prisons.
- Forfeitures: This involves the confiscation of assets gained through criminal activity.
- Restitution: Offenders may be ordered to compensate victims for financial losses incurred due to the crime.
- Imprisonment: Serious white-collar crimes can lead to lengthy prison sentences, especially if significant financial harm has been inflicted on victims.
Defendants who assist in investigations and show remorse may receive more lenient sentences. In general, the punishment after a conviction on white-collar charges may depend on the specific circumstances of the crime, including the financial losses suffered by any victims, the defendant’s level of remorse and more.
What is embezzlement?
Embezzlement is a white-collar crime characterized by the theft or misappropriation of assets, including money or property, by an individual entrusted with responsibility for those assets. Embezzlement can involve business partners, corporate executives, financial professionals and ordinary employees who have been placed in positions of trust.
It is important to remember that embezzlement is always an intentional act, not an act of negligence. For that reason, defense strategies often focus on making the prosecutor prove that there is actual evidence that the defendant acted with purpose and did not just make a mistake.
The methods employed range from simple employee theft, such as payroll manipulation, to more elaborate schemes involving fabricated employees and invoices to fictitious vendors.
How An Experienced White-Collar Crime Lawyer Can Help You
A federal criminal charge may be the biggest challenge you will ever face, and our team is ready to help you. Our white-collar crime defense team is led by former U.S. Attorney John Fishwick. He has prosecuted and defended criminal cases in federal court. Fishwick is a nationally recognized legal expert who has been quoted in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox Business.
Senior Associate Carrol Ching and Associate Daniel Martin work closely with John on these cases. Our firm’s investigator is a retired FBI agent.
Do Not Try To Face Charges Alone
We work with clients from all walks of life – business executives, small business owners, managers, accountants, doctors and other medical providers, to name a few.
If you are facing white-collar crime charges, you have an important decision to make: Who will you entrust with your defense? Call our office at 540-643-9772 or send us an email to get in touch with our law firm.