White collar crimes can be confusing to understand. They do not always look like traditional crimes that involve violence or overt physical actions. An Indiana resident may even wonder if a white collar crime is a real crime because they generally do not involve bodily harm.
Despite their differences from traditional crimes, white collar crimes are very real and carry very serious consequences for those who are convicted of them. The grounds for many white collar crimes are in fraud, a complex legal concept that involves misrepresentation. This post will discuss fraud and its various elements. Legal advice should be sought from a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney as this post offers no guidance, advice, or direction on any specific case.
The elements of fraud
As mentioned, crimes involving fraud involve misrepresentations. For a person to be charged with fraud, proof must be offered that they misrepresented facts of which they had knowledge to another party. When another party is harmed by the intentional misrepresentations of the other and suffers a loss because of it, the individual who promulgated the misrepresentation may be guilty of fraud.
Types of fraud
Fraud can be alleged in many different contexts. Crimes involving fraud tend to involve money. Fraud may occur in insurance dealings or securities transactions. They can involve the mail, wire communications, and even credit cards. Fraud can be alleged during bankruptcy hearings and in tax preparations.
When charged with a fraud crime, an individual may have many questions and even more concerns. One of the best first steps that they can take is to solicit the help of the knowledgeable criminal defense attorney who represents individuals on white collar crime matters. Dealing with a criminal charge on one’s own can be difficult, but the law firm of Kammen & Moudy can provide guidance and advice to those in need.
