Personal Injury and Criminal Defense Legal Blog
Category – White Collar Crime
Website Blunder Could Lead to White Collar Crime in Pierce County
A website in Pierce County was recently shut down for providing too much information to the general public. According to a KIRO-TV article, the Tacoma/Pierce County Health Department shut the site down after receiving information that county residents who have had septic tank work done at their homes were at risk of having personal information, namely credit card numbers, available in plain view on the website for anyone to see. The website had been used by homeowners, real estate agents, and contractors as a means of learning whether or not a particular property had its septic service worked on.
At this point, the website remains shut down until the Pierce County Health Department combs through pages and pages of data to delete personal credit information that should not have been made available to the general public in the first place. While no criminal charges have been sought at this point against any individuals who may have come across the personal information, cases of white collar crime in the state of Washington can ruin more than a victim’s credit score and financial well-being.
That is, individuals accused of white collar crime can often be saddled with a stigma that may prevent them from acquiring employment, or could cause those individuals to lose professional licenses to practice their professions. In the event that an individual is accused of a white collar crime in Seattle, that individual’s best course of action is retaining the services of an experienced criminal defense attorney who will examine every detail surrounding that individual’s arrest.
At McNeese & Trotsky, PLLC, our Seattle white collar defense attorneys understand how intimidating facing criminal charges may be. It is important for you to be aware of all your legal rights and we will fight to ensure that those rights are not infringed upon in a court of law. If you have been accused of a white collar crime, don’t hesitate to contact our skilled Seattle defense attorneys as soon as possible. Please call us today at 888-282-6977 for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
Financial Adviser Convicted of White-Collar Crime Against 97-Year-Old
According to the Seattle Times, a 97-year-old woman was allegedly taken advantage of by a man whom she entrusted her finances to. Reportedly, the woman experienced a loss of $1.5 million over the course of five years. The man, whom she considered her business consultant, and whom later assumed the role of her personal representative, alleges that the woman authorized him to accept the funds as his own, and that the funds served as payment for his services. The man was recently convicted on one count of first-degree theft, and currently faces up to 90 days in jail. However, due to the special circumstances of this case, namely that he was found guilty of two aggravating offenses (crime against a vulnerable victim and committing major economic offense), the presiding judge could impose a lengthier jail sentence via an exceptional sentence.
One key detail in this case was that the woman was deemed vulnerable due to the fact that she had Alzheimer’s disease. Though the man made his case that any funds he acquired from the woman were legitimate payment for his services, the overall actions that took place were not deemed to have been in the best interest of the woman. Allegedly, the man withdrew money from the woman’s bank accounts and credit cards, and used the funds for his own personal use. Such action would certainly fall in line with said funds being considered payment, and not being considered stolen or unearned. In any event, a jury of his peers helped determine that the man was in fact guilty of wrongdoing committed against the elderly woman, and as such serves as yet another example of white-collar crime being committed in Seattle.
White-collar crime is not characterized by violent action. Instead, it is crime committed against a person by another individual or entity, such as a corporation, which can take the form of embezzlement, bribery, tax evasion, or any other action in which an individual is defrauded out of monetary funds or services. Accusations of white-collar crime often are made in response to evidence of such impropriety; however, such evidence cannot always be deemed as truly indicative that any sort of wrongdoing actually took place. Given the aforementioned case, the evidence could have very well pointed to a he-said, she-said type scenario, which could have ultimately labeled the man not guilty of the crime. In any event, retaining the services of a skilled Seattle white collar crimes attorney can be the difference between freedom and prison.
If you have been accused of a white collar crime, please don’t hesitate to contact the criminal defense attorneys at McNeese & Trotksy, PLLC. Our experienced defense attorneys will examine every detail of your arrest and the charges being brought against you, and will build the strongest possible case on your behalf, given the circumstances of your particular situation. If you stand accused, don’t hesitate to call us today at 888-282-6977 for a free consultation.
Source:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009976229_webdash30m.html
Court to Strip Business Owners of Freedom
According to seattlepi.com, a Washington state strip club owner and his business associates face an array of charges ranging from money laundering to facilitation of prostitution. Allegedly, the strip clubs, and the activities that transpired at those clubs, whether legal or illegal, netted the owner and his associates $25 million over a four year period. After a year’s long investigation, the strip club proprietor and his associates face 20-year prison sentences.
The article goes on to explain that once illegal activity began taking place in the strip clubs, the club owners did little to curb the illicit behavior. In essence, they turned a blind eye to the acts that were transpiring between the club’s dancers and frequenters. On top of that, it was reported that the dancers were required to pay daily rent to the strip club in exchange for dancing, a common practice amongst strip clubs in the state of Washington. However, whether or not dancers were technically paying to dance, or to engage in other activities, is debatable.
The businessmen have also been accused of mail fraud in that tax records mailed were falsified, therefore constituting the fraud. The details surrounding this case are vast, and it is undoubtedly vital that these strip club moguls have skilled legal representation on their side that can examine every aspect of the case to ensure that the best possible defense is made.
If your or a loved one has been accused of a white collar crime in the state of Washington, don’t hesitate to contact the experienced Seattle white collar crime defense lawyers at McNeese & Trotsky, PLLC for a free consultation of your case. Call us today, toll-free, at 888-282-6977, and our knowledgeable criminal defense lawyers will protect your rights in a court of law.
Source Article:http://www.seattlepi.com/local/408389_colacurcio24.html
Posted in: Criminal Defense, White Collar Crime |
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