Category Archives: White Collar Crimes
Making Threats Is Extortion, Except When It’s Your Job
In certain professions, it is your job to lie. You would not make it very far as a hairstylist, politician, call girl, or professional gambler if your words and your facial expressions always revealed the truth. Of course, the First Amendment right to freedom of speech protects your right to say things that you… Read More »
Florida Wiretapping Laws
“This call may be recorded for quality or training purposes.” When you hear these words, you dread what comes next, namely a customer service representative giving you the runaround, so that, if you lose your temper, the call center can play the recording of the call for new employees in training to show them… Read More »
Can You Get Criminal Charges For Breach Of Fiduciary Duty?
If you have a fiduciary duty to someone, you probably know it, even if you have never heard the word “fiduciary.” Fiduciary duty is a legal responsibility not to mishandle someone else’s money, and the duty applies when you have access to someone else’s money in a formal capacity. If your job requires you… Read More »
Indian River County Woman Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud For Her Role In Romance Scam
The world changes more quickly than the names of laws do. For example, you can be charged with wire fraud if there is evidence that you knowingly made false statements for your own financial gain, and the medium of communication through which you made those statements could, in theory, be attached to a wire. … Read More »
Broward County Pastor Faces Criminal Charges For Allegedly Forging Quit Claim Deed
Statistically speaking, criminal defense lawyers are not most likely to utter the words “quit claim deed” in a courtroom. In fact, if you know what a quit claim deed is, you probably found out about them while engaging the services of a family law attorney or estate planning lawyer. Quit claim deeds transfer ownership… Read More »
Clinic Owner And Respiratory Therapist Accused Of Medicaid Fraud
Healthcare billing in the United States is anything but a straightforward matter. Just try to make sense of a bill that you have received from a doctor’s office or hospital. When you call your insurance company to try to figure out why your bill is so expensive, you end up still responsible for paying… Read More »
At What Point Does Research Misconduct Become A Crime?
Time-consuming assignments present all kinds of temptations to cheat, especially when grades or money are at stake. It’s easy to feel superior to the rich kids in college and in private high schools that pay other people to do their assignments for them, but how sure are you that you would not do the… Read More »
Three Men Face Charges For Broward County Real Estate Theft Conspiracy
Some things are harder to steal than others. Many items are easy enough to transfer from the rightful owner’s house or from a retail store and into your pocket or backpack. Vehicle theft requires you to do some fancy wiring and then put your foot on the gas before anyone else figures out what… Read More »
Car Dealership Employee Faces Theft Charges For Paying Herself Unauthorized Bonuses
Until recently, Ariel Rutenbeck worked at a Chevrolet dealership in Clearwater. News sources do not indicate her position title, but they did say that she was one of only two employees who had access to the dealership’s payroll system. The company’s Chief Financial Officer conducted an audit of the payroll system when reports showed… Read More »
Delray Beach Doctor Who Supervised Drug Testing For Dozens Of Addiction Treatment Practices Gets Prison Sentence For Healthcare Fraud
Plenty of newsworthy stories about COVID relief fraud have come out of Florida, but it doesn’t take a pandemic to make Floridians look at widespread ill health and see dollar signs. Healthcare is big business everywhere in the United States, but this is especially the case in Florida, where you can hardly take ten… Read More »
