If you have been charged with a white collar crime in the vicinity of Seattle or King County, Washington, Jennifer Horwitz has the experience and specialized knowledge to represent you. A graduate of Harvard Law School, she has over 25 years of successful outcomes handling both state and federal criminal cases, including all types of state and federal white collar fraud cases. She has extensive experience handling cases in the pre-charge or investigation phase and regularly represents individuals subpoenaed to testify before grand juries. With Jennifer Horwitz Law on board as your advocate, you will feel that you are more in control as you work with her to prepare to respond to allegations of white collar crimes. Jennifer has both the intricate knowledge of specific white collar crimes under both federal and state law and the skill set to help move the case toward the best possible outcome. Jennifer Horwitz will personally represent you on every aspect of your case and will never delegate work on your case to a less experienced attorney.
Defining White Collar Crime
White collar crime is a broad category of crimes that generally describes situations when deceit is used for financial gain. There are many situations where certain business decisions or practices appear to be fraudulent when they are not. In addition, it is often the case that one person in a business is actually engaging in fraudulent practices while others are unknowingly being used to facilitate the fraud. Each case is different, but no matter the particular circumstances of your case, Jennifer Horwitz Law has the expertise and knowledge to help you fight back against the allegations against you.
Types of White Collar Crime
There are many types of white collar crime, including:
- Bribery
- Counterfeiting
- Credit card fraud
- Embezzlement
- Forgery
- Identity theft
- Immigration fraud
- Insurance fraud
- Securities Fraud
- Insider Trading
- Health Care Industry Fraud
- Violation of Anti-Kickback Statute and Medicaid Fraud
- Welfare or Social Security Fraud
- Money laundering
- Mortgage/real estate fraud
- “Ponzi” schemes
- Tax Fraud
Some of these varieties of white collar crime are detailed below:
Embezzlement involves stealing money from individuals who have trusted you with their finances (given you fiduciary power). Examples of embezzlement include employees stealing from their employers, accountants stealing from their clients, elected officials stealing from their constituents, and school administrators stealing from their districts. In all such cases, the accused embezzlers have allegedly tapped money belonging to others and siphoned it into their personal accounts.
Identity Theft has become more and more common with access to the internet. It occurs when an individual is able to impersonate another person by obtaining and using an important piece of personal data (e.g. a Social Security number or driver’s license number) to obtain loans, open credit cards, or otherwise access money that is not theirs.
Insurance Fraud occurs when someone submits false claims to an insurance company for medical treatment or property damage. The claims, whether for incidents that never occurred or for inflated amounts, are filed with the intention of receiving money to which the claimant is not legally entitled. Insurance Fraud can also be accomplished by omitting important information from a claim that is submitted to an insurance company.
Money Laundering is a crime of deception designed to disguise the origins of illegally obtained money. This can be accomplished in a number of ways that result in obscuring the origin of the funds.
Mortgage Fraud involves an applicant lying or omitting important facts on a mortgage application to secure a mortgage they might not be entitled to without the false or omitted information.
Securities Fraud occurs when those who trade in stocks and other securities use deceptive information as bait to lure unsuspecting investors to invest in unreliable stocks. Securities fraud also occurs when someone has or obtains private information about a stock (e.g. when a merger will take place or other inside information) and uses this information for personal gain, directly or indirectly.
Tax fraud takes place when an individual or business entity intentionally falsifies or omits important information on a tax return with the goal of diminishing tax liability.
Defenses Against White Collar Crime
Depending on the particular details of your case, Jennifer will work with you to create the strongest approach to your defense. She will speak with you about the allegations and find out if you have access to any evidence or witnesses that would be helpful in your defense. Jennifer has a network of experts that she works with on these types of cases and she may also engage an expert on your case, if appropriate.
Some people accused of fraud crimes did not knowingly and intentionally engage in fraudulent conduct. White collar fraud cases are often cases built on circumstantial evidence and there is no direct evidence to prove that a particular person engaged in fraudulent conduct. Sometimes the evidence in these types of cases can consist of the timing of certain money transactions, the way a transaction is accomplished, or assumptions about what someone in a certain job or position knew or should have known. There are cases in which some individuals in a company or other work setting intentionally engaged in fraud, using others who did not know about the fraud to further their objectives. If a person was used unwittingly as a participant in a fraud they were not aware of, that person may have a defense to the fraud allegations.
It is important to note that defenses to fraud cases can be highly technical on both a legal and factual level and requires an exhaustive understanding of both the facts and the law. Jennifer brings experience with a wide variety of fraud cases to any representation in a white collar fraud case. Jennifer has obtained outstanding results in many fraud cases she has worked on, including preventing charges from being filed, obtaining reductions in charges and sentences, and getting charges completely dismissed.
Jennifer has handled one of the only Insider Trading cases prosecuted in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington. She has represented individuals in various types of Health Care Fraud and Anti-Kickback Statute allegations. She has represented several individuals charged with Money Laundering and has also represented individuals charged with Identity Theft, Securities Fraud, Forgery and other type of Fraud allegations.
Fraud Prosecutions and Convictions Can Have Far-Reaching Consequences
White collar fraud cases can have serious consequences for a person who is prosecuted or convicted of these types of offenses. These types of cases can carry both fines and the possibility of imprisonment. Depending on the case, they can also affect employment, licensing, immigration and other areas of life outside of the criminal case. Some cases can involve enforcement actions by the Securities and Trade Commission (SEC) and its state counterpart and prosecutions can also trigger forfeiture actions and the freezing of assets. It is vitally important that you have a strong and experienced advocate like Jennifer Horwitz Law by your side if you are facing an investigation or prosecution for these types of charges. Please give Jennifer Horwitz Law a call or fill out the contact form to schedule an initial consultation regarding your case.
Jennifer Horwitz helps her clients accused of white collar crimes in Seattle and all throughout Washington State and King County including Bellevue, Issaquah, and Sammamish.