White Collar Crime

It is a nonviolent crime committed for financial gain. White collar crime was defined in 1939 by Edwin Sutherland as one “committed by the person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation”. Because of the complexity and the seductively of white collar accusations, prosecutors often make mistakes. But it takes an experienced Houston criminal defense attorney, with expertise in white collar cases, to uncover these problems.

Examples of white collar crime

• Fraud
• Bribery
• Identity Theft
• Black Mail
• Embezzlement
• Counterfeiting
• Money Laundring
• Computer Crimes
• Perjury
• Forgery

One of the common crimes committed by the white collar workers is embezzlement. This type of offense happens when the particular person dishonestly handles the company money for his or her use. For example: A particular employee takes the money from the bank for his or her personal use.

Causes of white collar crime

Greed and bad economy is one of the main causes of white collar crime because many criminals make good money and that does not stop them from making more. These peoples do not use weapons to pull off their crime. They use their wit. Some get away with it for years without getting caught and some may never get caught. People become much afraid of the future because of the poor economy people decide to take measures to financially protect themselves in illegal ways.

Effects

Financial cost: According to the Cornell Legal Information Institute, it was estimated in 2010 that white collar crime cost the U.S. $300 billion.

Jobs: When the dishonest person gains huge profits from the sales of shares the company will be pushed in to the job loses, where many of these employees will lose the savings from the company

If you found that you are under the investigation of a white collar crime, then it is necessary to hire a Houston criminal lawyer. Keep in mind that you should not talk about the offenses before consulting with the white collar attorney in Houston TX. 

Allen Stanford defrauded investors out of $ 7billion

Former board of directors chairman of Stanford International Bank (SIB), Allen Stanford has been sentenced to a total of 110 years in prison for orchestrating a 20-year investment fraud scheme in which he misappropriated $7 billion from SIB to finance his personal businesses.

The sentencing was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas; FBI Assistant Director Kevin Perkins of the Criminal Investigative Division; Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration Phyllis C. Borzi; Chief Postal Inspector Guy J. Cottrell; and Chief Richard Weber, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI).

Stanford, 62, was convicted on 13 of 14 counts by a federal jury following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge David Hittner and approximately three days of deliberation. The jury also found that 29 financial accounts located abroad and worth approximately $330 million were proceeds of Stanford’s fraud and should be forfeited.

Speaking on behalf of the victims in the case during the sentencing hearing today were Angie Shaw, the director and founder of the Stanford Victims Coalition, and Jaime Escalona, who represents Stanford victims from Latin America.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Hittner remarked that “this is one of the most egregious frauds ever presented to a trial jury in federal court.”

After considering all the evidence, including more than 350 victim impact letters that were sent to the court, Judge Hittner sentenced Stanford to 20 years for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud; 20 years on each of the four counts of wire fraud, as well as five years for conspiring to obstruct a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation; and five years for obstruction of an SEC investigation. Those sentences will all run consecutively. He also received 20 years for each of the five counts of mail fraud and 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering, which will run concurrent to the other sentences imposed today, for a total sentence of 110 years.

For more details regarding this case you may log onto: http://www.fbi.gov/houston/press-releases/2012/allen-stanford-gets-110-years-for-orchestrating-7-billion-investment-fraud-scheme

Types of Arrest Warrant

It is a warrant issued by the judge in the court granting that the law enforcement officials has the right to arrest the person regarding the crime committed. Arrest warrants are most commonly required when a crime is committed out of view of a police officer. If a felony is committed in view of a police officer then an arrest can be made without a warrant.

The different types of arrest warrant are

• Bench warrant
• Felony warrant
• Civil warrant
• Alias warrant

Bench Warrant

It is a type of arrest warrant issued by the court when someone fails to comply with the requirement. In order to file a bench warrant, a judge must generally demonstrate a personal knowledge of the contempt which instigated the warrant. Generally the bench warrant is used in very least matters to encourage the party to appear in the court. A bench warrant may also be ordered when a defendant fails to pay fines, or comply with bail conditions, educational programs, or when the defendant commits a crime while on release pending the original trial.

Felony Warrant

The felony warrant is issued by the court where this arrest will be done when the individual is suspected of committing a felony crime. This warrant is issued in the most of the cases by the judge after the consideration of the evidence provided by the law enforcement. Felony warrant is a legal document so an necessary signed affidavit of a crime committed and the name of the accused must be present in that legal document. This warrant does not have any target date rather than it will remain in effect until the arrest is made. This warrant is legally and freely viewed by the public. It is a serious warrant and it should not be ignored in any situation.

Civil Warrant

The civil warrant is issued in the civil court where the civil warrant is commonly issued in the small claims court when filling suit. It is issued on the behalf of individuals who submit a civil summons. This is not an arrest warrant and is brought by one party against another in matters of monetary judgment. The warrant in debt is summoned filled by one individual against another person, usually for the purpose of establishing a court date to plead a case involving monetary issues. This is the first procedure in the wage garnishment cases. Addressing the issues of claims for money is done for the warrant in debt.Address claims for the property is done for the warrant in detinue.

Alias warrant

This type of warrant is issued in the court when the particular person failed to appear in the court or on the initial appearance on the citation or on the scheduled court date. Remember that if you receive or sign a citation you are assuring that you will appear in the court without fail and if you fail to appear in the court this warrant has been changed to the arrest warrant and you can bond out of jail by cash bond, bail bond, attorney bond, or PR bond.

Just because you have received the arrest warrant issued against the judge you don’t mean that you done have any rights as the accused, hence contact Houston criminal attorney for your problems and a free initial consultation.