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White Collar Crimes

Atlanta White Collar Crimes Lawyer

If you’re facing white-collar criminal charges, you should not face them without the help of a white-collar crime attorney. Embezzlement, securities fraud, identity theft, and other types of white-collar crime charges require an aggressive federal criminal defense. RICO charges may be used in large-scale white-collar cases.

All criminal charges are serious, but white-collar charges, in particular, can have a devastating impact on your life. These charges and the ensuing enforcement actions can come with long prison sentences, wide-scale asset seizures, and the freezing of assets your family relies upon to cover expenses.

You should speak to a lawyer immediately to avoid making mistakes while responding to these serious charges. Our lawyers have years of experience, including as former federal prosecutors. They can help you understand what you are being charged with, what to expect from your case, and what to do next. Contact us now for a free consultation.

What Are White Collar Criminal Charges?

White-collar crime is a broad informal category of nonviolent crimes that involve violations of business or public trust. What makes a crime white-collar is that it must usually be committed by someone given special privileges because of their job, title, or elected position.

White-collar crimes are usually prosecuted in federal court, though occasionally, state prosecutors in Georgia will bring charges involving a white-collar crime. The lawyers at Garland, Samuel & Loeb are experienced in handling white-collar criminal defense.

There is no “legal” definition of a white-collar crime. Generally, white-collar crimes are characterized by crimes that involve theft or fraud; in other words, insider trading, racketeering, tax fraud, or wire fraud. Typical white-collar crimes are significant fraud offenses involving large financial frauds.

The defendant is often a professional (banker, public official, doctor, lawyer, or business professional). Generally, there is no violence involved. The victims (including a government agency, such as Medicare or the IRS) lose money; there are no personal injuries or violence involved. Often, the defense will retain experts to assist in the defense, including forensic accountants or medical billing experts who can help unravel the intricacies of Medicare billing.

If a defendant is convicted of a white-collar crime, sentencing ranges in federal court will often reflect the amount of money that the victim (including the government or a bank) lost and the role the defendant played in perpetrating the offense. The court will also consider the defendant’s occupation (lawyer, doctor, accountant) in deciding what sentence to impose.

Many institutions, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), employ data specialists and forensic scientists to detect fraud trends. This evidence can be intimidating when presented, but our lawyers have extensive experience with these cases. We know the strength of this data is often overstated, and we have experience finding specialist witnesses who can use their own data expertise to dismantle it.

GSL has been in existence for over 40 years, and over this period of time, criminal defense attorneys have scored numerous victories in white-collar cases:

  • Prosecutors who have agreed not to pursue charges

  • Settlements that result in no jail time

  • Acquittals at trial in both state and federal court

How Can a Lawyer Help You with White Collar Crime Charges?

Our Atlanta white-collar crime attorneys can assist you by providing experienced counsel at every stage of your case. When you have just been accused, our law office can provide immediate legal advice and help you craft the correct responses to law enforcement questions.

Our lawyers may be able to more broadly advise you on what to expect from your case, including misdemeanor or felony charges like health care fraud, credit card fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and tax evasion. Can these charges be settled out of court? Should I fight them? How long should I expect the case to take? These questions can only be answered by a criminal defense lawyer who knows the details of your case.

Our lawyers can defend you in court as you face your charges before a judge and jury. Not all white-collar charges will need to end in court. We may be able to secure a favorable plea bargain to reduce the charges. We may also be able to prove that your charges are baseless and have them thrown out in court.

If you need legal help with white-collar criminal cases, contact our office as soon as possible. Many parts of your defense may be time-sensitive. For example, there may be timelines to turn over important information. Data you could use to defend yourself could be deleted if you don’t request it fast enough.

Contact Us: How Can We Help You?

When you hire the law firm of Garland, Samuel & Loeb, you can rely on our Atlanta white collar crime firm to do everything in our power to reach the best possible outcome in your case. Whether you have suffered a serious injury in an accident or are facing criminal charges, our attorneys will fight to see that your rights are protected from the start. Get started using our white-collar crime contact form.


FAQs about White Collar Crimes

The term "white collar" comes from the types of people who were historically accused of these types of crimes - they tended to be people who worked "white collar" jobs (executives, sales people, etc.) as opposed to people who worked "blue collar" jobs.

Many people think that white collar criminals get off with a "slap on the wrist" or get sentenced to serve their time at "Club Fed." This is not true. More and more, white collar defendants are sentenced to hefty sentences - often decades in prison - and ordered to pay millions, if not billions, in restitution.

Evidence in white collar cases tends to consist of emails, text messages, bank records, and testimony from other individuals who participated in the conduct. Emails and text messages play an increasingly important role in criminal trials as our digital devices become more and more capable or storing information for long periods of time. Often, the government is able to access emails and text messages that are years old and use those as evidence in its case-in-chief.

The answer to this question varies widely depending on factors like the jurisdiction of the case and the nature of the crime. By way of example, in the Northern District of Georgia in 2023, over 70% of defendants who were sentenced in a fraud case were sentenced to serve prison time.

The government always has the burden of proof to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In white collar crimes, they will focus their evidence on documents and testimony that shows the accused's state of mind at the time the allegedly criminal conduct was committed.

Fraud charges encompass a wide variety of allegedly criminal behavior and are often prosecuted. Fraud charges can include wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and health care fraud, just by way of example.

There is no "average" sentence for a white collar crime. The sentece can vary widely depending on the jurisdiction, the amount of money involved in the offense, the number of victims, and other factors like the defendant's criminal history. It is vital to have an experienced attorney, like those at Garland, Samuel, & Loeb, who can evaluate all of these factors and give you the best advice as to how to handle your particular matter.

Many times, the defense in a white-collar case focuses on the accused's intent or state of mind. Often the defense does not dispute the facts, but does dispute the accused's intention when undertaking the allegedly criminal action. For example, if someone is charged with bank fraud because they made a misrepresentation on a loan application, the ultimate question is whether that misrepresentation was an unintentional mistake (and therefore not a crime), or whether it was a knowing and voluntary misrepresentation (in which case it would be a crime).

Fraud charges, bribery, insider trading, and public corruption are examples of white collar crimes.

You can get a job after a white-collar crime, though having a criminal conviction on your record can make it much harder to get employment after a conviction.

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Attorneys That Can Help

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How Can We Help You?

When you hire the law firm of Garland, Samuel & Loeb, you can rely on us to do everything in our power to reach the best possible outcome in your case. Whether you have suffered a serious injury in an accident or are facing criminal charges, our attorneys will fight to see that your rights are protected from the start. 

Contact Us Today