What is Considered a White Collar Crime in Michigan?
The term “white collar crime” is a general term that encompasses a variety of non-violent criminal activities that often involve money.
These crimes are also generally committed by businesses entities or people in business. They typically involve some form of deception to generate illicit financial gain.
Below are some of the most common white collar crimes in Michigan.
The Most Common White Collar Crimes in Michigan
Since white collar crimes is such a vague term, providing common examples can help you get a better idea of what they may entail.
The most common white collar crimes in Michigan are embezzlement, bribery, fraud, conspiracy, forgery, identity theft, passing bad checks, money laundering, and falsifying business records.
We’ll next examine a few of these common white collar crimes to add further clarity and explain what to do if you are charged with them.
Embezzlement
Charges of embezzlement in Michigan involve taking property or funds that you are responsible for managing or have been put in charge of.
It’s important to note that not all embezzlement activity is treated the same way in Michigan: embezzling less than $1,000 is considered a misdemeanor, while taking amounts over $1,000 constitutes a felony crime. These larger sums or values will result in harsher penalties in the form of imprisonment and fines.
However, both misdemeanor and felony embezzlement require a strong defense by accomplished, diligent attorneys. Gentry Nalley has the ample experience needed to sift through the large volumes of data often involved in order to uncover the facts that can prove your innocence.
Bribery
Bribery involves offering anything of value in order to receive preferential treatment from a person of authority, including public officials, elected officials, juries, corporate employees or managers and other authoritative figures.
Michigan considers charges of bribery a felony. Depending on the amounts involved and the level of influence sought, it is punishable by varying amounts of jail time and fines. If your offer is refused, you may also be charged with conspiracy to commit bribery.
In our many years of experience, the attorneys at Gentry Nalley have found that business relationships can be misconstrued to the point that a charge of bribery may be leveled, and understand how to neutralize these incorrect charges.
Fraud
Michigan considers fraud as cheating, defrauding or using a false pretense to obtain funds or property. Some examples of fraud include mortgage fraud, securities fraud, food stamp fraud, home improvement fraud, and real estate fraud.
Since fraud is a general term that encompasses a wide variety of crimes, it is no surprise that it’s also a relatively broad charge that may carry misdemeanor or felony consequences, depending on the circumstances and amounts involved.
As experienced attorneys, we understand that many friendly interactions can be construed as fraud without a full knowledge of the facts. Contact us today to discuss how we can help correct matters involving fraud for you.