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San Antonio White Collar Crimes Lawyer

When you or your business faces criminal charges for bribery, fraud, or theft, you want an attorney who understands how to decipher intricate corporate and financial matters, possesses in-depth knowledge of state and federal laws, as well as a firm grasp of how these regulations and practices intersect. In addition to our years of experience defending clients at the state and federal level, our San Antonio white collar criminal lawyers at Hoelscher Gebbia Cepeda PLLC work with forensic accountants, former IRS agents and investigators, and other professional experts and specialists, to ensure we use every available resource when defending our clients.

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Why Choose Hoelscher Gebbia Cepeda, PLLC For Your Case?

If you are facing a state or federal white-collar crime charge, you must turn to a skilled criminal defense attorney in San Antonio as soon as possible to help you through this. Hoelscher Gebbia Cepeda, PLLC is standing by to help you today in Bexar County.

How Will a San Antonio White Collar Crime Attorney Help Your Case?

A San Antonio white collar crime defense attorney should have one strategy in mind – holding the Texas government or federal government to the highest burden of proof required for these cases. Just because you have been accused of a crime does not mean that you will ultimately be found guilty. A skilled San Antonio white collar crimes lawyer can use their resources and legal expertise to:

What is a White Collar Crime?

A white collar crime is a non-violent crime where financial gain is the primary motive. White collar criminals are often professionals or office-holders with above-average compensation. The difference between a white collar crime and a blue collar crime is the type of criminal activity in which the alleged defendant is engaged.

Blue collar crimes include those of more limited means like robbery and burglary. White collar crimes are more widespread and complex such as Ponzi schemes.

White collar crimes may be committed by individuals or by corporations.

Types of White Collar Crime Cases We Handle

In Texas, many white collar crimes are lumped under “theft” crimes. Whether you have been accused of or are being investigated for engaging in deceptive trade practices or the misappropriation of fiduciary funds, we have the resources and experience to fight these complex criminal charges. At the federal level, white collar defense lawyers typically deal with conspiracy, racketeering, or fraud charges.

There are numerous types of white collar crimes we handle at Hoelscher Gebbia Cepeda PLLC, on the state and federal level, including:

Most federal white collar crimes are serious felonies that can result in prison sentences. In many instances, the government will carry out a prolonged investigation to build a case. If you or your business is under federal investigation, it’s essential to secure representation as early as possible.

Federal White Collar Crimes

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), white collar crimes cost the United States more than $300 billion every year. Most of these crimes are deliberate, occur over a period of time, and are disguised as legitimate behavior.

Some common federal white collar crimes are the following:

Bribery

Bribery is the offer or acceptance of anything of value in exchange for influence on a government or public employee. Bribes can include gifts or payments of money. They are typically exchanged for favorable treatment.

Generally, both parties to bribery are chargeable with the offense. A federal conviction of bribery can result in fines of up to three times the monetary equivalent of the thing of value or a federal sentence of up to fifteen years in federal prison. A conviction can also bar the defendant from holding any United States government position.

Bribery is a serious federal criminal offense and should be taken seriously. Allegations of bribery lead to lengthy and thorough investigations by federal law enforcement.

Consumer Fraud

Consumer fraud is conducting unfair or deceptive trade practices in consumer transactions. It includes the intentional withholding of information or misleading a person on purpose; however, the intent to deceive is not a prerequisite to a conviction for consumer fraud.

Consumer fraud is a common form of white collar crime and can include: credit card fraud, insurance fraud, credit fraud, healthcare fraud, health insurance fraud, or business fraud. If convicted of consumer fraud, you may be facing hefty fines and/or imprisonment.

Anyone involved in a consumer scam can be charged with consumer fraud where a consumer was given false information to achieve financial gain.

Corporate Fraud

Corporate fraud, or securities fraud, occurs when a corporate officer or director makes a material misrepresentation or distortion related to stock information or an officer or director unlawfully discloses confidential information related to stock. An individual or entity acts upon the unlawful disclosure of certain confidential stock information.

A conviction for corporate fraud type requires evidence that the offender intended to deceive, manipulate, or defraud the victim. However, there does not need to be any evidence that the offender intended to cause harm to the victim.

Counterfeiting

Counterfeiting is the crime of making a false document. Commonly counterfeited documents include contracts, identification cards, money, and legal certificates. Counterfeiting also involves creating replicas of products to pass them off as genuine, like designer clothing and watches.

Extortion

Extortion, also called blackmail, is the gaining of property or money by almost any kind of force, including threats of violence, harm to reputation, or unfavorable government action. Extortion, while a type of theft, does not generally pose any imminent physical danger to the victim.

The Hobbs Act allows extortion to be prosecuted as a federal crime involving demands made by individuals and government employees using a telephone, U.S. mail, internet, or any other form of interstate commerce.

Forgery

Forgery is creating a false document, changing an existing document, or signing a document without authorization. Documents commonly forged include contracts, identification cards, and legal certificates.

A conviction for forgery carries significant fines and up to twenty years in federal prison.

Insider Trading

When a person with inside knowledge about a company’s dealings uses that information to trade stocks, they are insider trading. Individuals who may access inside information include brokers, stock analysts, investment bankers, and company employees. Federal law makes it a crime for anyone with inside information to buy or sell stocks based on their unique perspective or special knowledge.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, enforces the securities laws that prohibit insider trading. It can be legal for insiders to trade stock as long as the trading does not take advantage of non-public information. Insider trading relates to the illegal practice where an individual makes trades using private information.

Insider trading is illegal because it raises the cost of capital for the issuers of securities and can decrease economic growth.

Tax Evasion

Tax evasion laws make it illegal for anyone to attempt to evade any tax imposed under federal statute willfully. It does not matter if the taxes are personal taxes or business taxes. The IRS can target any individual or business that pays taxes.

A conviction for tax evasion can result in penalties up to $100,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations and/or incarceration for up to five years, together with the costs of prosecution. The most common reasons for prosecution by the IRS are failure to file tax returns on time and providing false income information.

Federal Target Letters

If you have received a target letter from an Assistant United States Attorney regarding any white-collar crime, then you need to take this to mean that you are under investigation. If you receive a federal target letter, you need to speak to a skilled criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. While a Federal target letter could mean a number of things, it is vital that you let a San Antonio white collar crime lawyer look over the notification and handle any communication with other parties involved.

Often, targets of white-collar investigations are not arrested right away. Even if you have an inkling that something is amiss, it is a good idea to speak to a lawyer. An attorney may be able to step in on your behalf to find out what is going on and gauge the amount of trouble you may be in. Early mitigation could make a huge difference in your financial crime case.

Penalties for White Collar Offenses in Texas

White collar crimes can be prosecuted by both the federal authorities and the State of Texas (Chapter 12 of the Texas Penal Code). The penalties for white collar crimes in Texas vary based on the following:

Penalties and fines for a white collar crime in Texas could include:

San Antonio White Collar Crime Attorneys Serving All Of Texas

Although located in San Antonio, Texas, our white collar crime defense lawyers handle cases throughout Texas and are recognized in many Texas courts. Some places we defend criminal charges regularly include:

Contact Our San Antonio White Collar Crime Lawyers Today

We have successfully helped many professionals avoid felony convictions for crimes against their employers, insurance companies, and federal and financial institutions. If you have been charged or are under investigation for state or federal business or economic crimes, contact our San Antonio law office and speak with our experienced white collar defense attorneys. Call (210) 222-9132 to schedule an initial consultation.