|
|
Last
Modified on
Jan 31, 2025
In this article, a New Jersey white collar crimes lawyer discusses what to do if someone accuses you of having committed fraud.
Criminal Fraud Defined
If accused of criminal fraud, you have essentially been accused of a form of theft by means of deceit. Your accuser may feel that you have given patently false information, made false promises or product claims, withheld needed information or deceived through some other means, but the bottom line is that you have been accused of a form of stealing.
How It Can Happen
You could be accused of fraud even though you had no idea that anything you were doing was in any way improper. For example:
• Everyone wants to make money, and you’ve come up with an investment idea that looks promising. It looks like a great opportunity, so you promote it and others join in with you. You didn’t lie to anybody, nor did you willfully mislead anyone, but someone mistakes what you’re doing for a scam such as a Ponzi scheme. You and your New Jersey white collar criminal defense attorney must then demonstrate that this is not the case.
• You receive a letter in the mail with five “reports” inside, and are encouraged to develop a sales letter offering to sell these “informative reports” to as many people as you can. The idea is that it’s a perfectly legitimate sales tactic designed for you to earn money. The letter you received assures you that the procedure is well within the law, so you go ahead with it thinking that everything is legal and above board. Later, the letters are returned to you with the accusation that you have committed mail fraud. You never meant to do anything wrong. You simply acted on the information provided. You are actually the one who’s been defrauded, yet you’re the one who has been accused.
