White collar crime is a very broad category of nonviolent financial crimes. Typically, white collar crimes occur in a workplace setting, and can include embezzlement, securities fraud and many other offenses. The defendants can be individuals or even a large corporation.
Recently, the ticket sales giant Ticketmaster agreed to pay $10 million to settle charges it had hacked into the computers of a competitor. According to federal prosecutors, Ticketmaster conspired to hack into the computer systems of Songkick, a startup ticket seller, in an effort to interfere with its business and divert its customers to Ticketmaster instead
When corporations are defendants in white collar crime cases, they often resolve the charges by agreeing to pay fines. When individuals are defendants, they may face prison time as well as fines.
Complex evidence
There are white collar crime cases that look like straightforward theft cases. For instance, it could be considered a white collar crime if a cashier took some money from the till at the store where they worked. In such a case, the wrongful act might be caught on video, or a co-worker might have witnessed the defendant’s action.
But in many white collar cases, the evidence is much more complex. White collar crime cases often require a court to examine complex spreadsheets and other financial documents.
The prosecution is highly skilled and has enormous resources at its disposal when presenting this type of evidence to a court. The defense must be at least as skillful in the way it handles evidence.
A good criminal defense lawyer is important for any defendant facing any kind of criminal charges, but in white collar crime cases it’s especially important for the accused to find a lawyer who has experience in defending clients in similar cases.