San Antonio White Collar Crime Attorney
White collar crime is the popular term used to describe nonviolent criminal activity whose purpose is the obtaining money by means of deceit, deception, or misrepresentations. Most white collar crimes may result in a lengthy prison sentence. Because many of these cases end up in Federal Court, it is important to have a San Antonio white collar criminal defense attorney experienced and licensed in federal court.
Board Certified in Criminal Law and Well-Equipped to Defend You
At our San Antonio law firm, the Law Offices of Ray Taylor & Associates, P.C., we use the experience and research skills of our white collar defense attorneys to defend clients facing white collar, business-related fraud or embezzlement charges. We have access to the forensic accountants, computer experts, and investigators necessary to put together a first class defense.
San Antonio White Collar Crime Attorney Ray Taylor is able to handle the most complex and high-profile business-related cases. He is one of the very few lawyers in Texas Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both Criminal Law and in Civil Trial Law, the trial specialty most closely related to business or commercial litigation. He is also one of only 36 lawyers (out of 87,000) in Texas to be Board Certified in both Criminal Trial Advocacy and Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and is thus able to handle the many civil aspects that so frequently come up in these cases.
Occasionally, a purely civil (non criminal) settlement can be worked out with these cases, if defense counsel can enter them early enough. Sometimes the charges and embarrassment of a criminal trial can be avoided altogether.
Contact Ray Taylor at (210) 807-9916 to arrange a free initial in-office consultation and case analysis. Remember, the key to successful representation is the earliest possible intervention. Ask for a lawyer immediately and then remain silent.
Fraud Charges and White Collar Crimes
Our cases in this area include matters involving:
Cases involving charges such as these often begin with civil investigations and proceedings or federal tax evasion or tax fraud investigation issues. The time to see a lawyer is at the first sign of trouble. Our lawyers are able to handle civil lawsuits or claims that arise from alleged fraudulent conduct, with the principle emphasis on avoiding criminal charges, but also keeping in mind the considerable danger of financial loss that can accompany these cases.
Case Study - Typical White Collar Crime Case
Many of the white collar crime cases we defend are embezzlement cases. "Typical" profiles are always subject to many exceptions, but the most common description of a client is:
A very pleasant, church going, middle-aged female office manager/ bookkeeper of a small (less than 50 employees) family owned business who enjoys the complete trust of her employers. She will not be a family member, but will number among her closest friends the owner-family.
She will be the "indispensible" member of the staff at headquarters. She will never delegate work or take a vacation.
The cancelled checks will come to her and she will keep track of who has paid their bills, and what bills have been paid.
In short, she will be a complete insider, and this will often be the basis for civil, not criminal settlement.
Sometimes there is something irregular going on, such as money skimming, tax evasion, bribery, fraud of some sort, or other criminal or illegal activity.
With younger women clients, sometimes there has been sexual harassment or an illicit affair with an important officer of this family business.
These women invariably fit into one of two categories: practically member of the family, or the whipping boy who has long absorbed the verbal and other abuse of the overbearing general manager or C.E.O.
There will be no "controls" such as periodic audits, and the office manager/bookkeeper will provide most of the contact with and information to the tax professional, usually a C.P.A.
The embezzlement will often be simplicity itself: the chief executive officer will often sign blank checks, or the office manager will simply deposit cash or checks from customers into an account she controls.
The exposure of the embezzlement is usually quite unexpected and accidental. An insufficient funds check is written, the office manager is ill and misses the cancelled check delivery, or some other simple and routine matter is not attended to by the office manager.
There is almost always an immediate and bitter confrontation. The deeply hurt chief executive officer may well gang up with other family members to force an oral or written confession.
Usually, unpaid wages due to the office manager for several days work are not paid, and she leaves immediately.
Soon, unmeetable demands are made and the former office manager may get a demand from an attorney threatening civil and/or criminal action.
Soon after the letter from the attorney, it often occurs that the former office manager truly was an indispensible employee.
She knows matters that, if not dealt with, might cause considerable chaos or major financial loss to the employer.
This may be the starting point for civil noncriminal negotiations.
But the providing of key information can be the beginning of a noncriminal adjustment of the matter. Sometimes providing partial restitution, a return of a bonus or gift, and agreement for non-prosecution from the district attorney can be worked out.
No two cases are alike. Each must be handled differently. Sometimes a delay allows for tempers to cool and reason to return. However, the one universal seems to be the emotions involved, and how these emotions may be used to the benefit of the former employee in her goals of avoiding prison.
White Collar Computer Crime
With the possible exception of child sex abuse and identity theft, no area in criminal law is faster growing than white collar computer crime.
The opportunities and variations seem endless for these often brilliant, innovative, and technically sophisticated clients.
The key to defending these cases is to prepare a defense that can be understood, believed, and appreciated by the average juror.
This requires thinking like a typical juror (who is seldom sophisticated in regard to computers) and getting a helping hand from the Defendant, and sometimes your own computer expert.
A Case Study - Computer Crime Case
A computer programmer was employed by a local college. He was typical of those educated in computer science, brilliant, quite, and thoughtful.
His immediate superior, was a giant of a woman whose computer savvy was modest at best. She was a typical "Type A" personality: loud, aggressive, overbearing, opinionated, and given to brutally dressing down her staff in front of their colleagues.
The computer programmer could bear it n longer, and gave 30 days notice. However, before he left, he implanted several "poison pills" to erase programs and information that was not adequately backed up for several dates starting about two months after his departure.
His manager gave him a less than lukewarm letter or recommendation remarkable only for its sour minimalist praise for her departing employee, who had been her best worker for some years.
The computer programmer was unable to secure other employment with such scant praise from his former boss.
The computer information flow collapsed as expected.
Further, badly needed information began to vanish, and efforts at repair simply made things worse. Matters continued to deteriorate.
For reason no better than the accused was the most able and disgruntled of former employers, the manager sent the police to talk to the computer programmer. The interview went badly. The officers were barely computer literate, and the computer programmer's easy use of computer-talk left them dazed and confused and capable of doing little more than spluttering vague threats of arrest and imprisonment.
The client retained us, and a meeting was had with the college's general counsel.
The meeting went well. An agreement was reached between the chief of the white collar crime section at the District Attorney's Office, the defense attorney, and the College's General Counsel. The agreement was that the general counsel would write a new and glowing recommendation letter, handle any enquiries, regarding future employment, and the computer programmer would "try" to fix the problem.
Nearly all the lost information was recovered, and the computer programmer got a new job.
Unfortunately, the computer manager stayed on.
Contact a San Antonio White Collar Crime Lawyer Today
If you are facing fraud charges or any other white collar crime charge, contact an experienced Texas white collar criminal defense attorney with the knowledge and resources to build a strong defense. Call the San Antonio, Texas, Law Offices of Ray Taylor & Associates, P.C., at (210) 807-9916 to schedule a free initial in-office consultation and case analysis.
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