Winston Law PA

Fraud and White Collar Crimes

Under Florida law, a fraudulent act is defined as an act with the intent or purpose of suppressing the truth or perpetrating a deception.  Fraudulent acts can include lying to a government agency, stealing from an employer, falsely signing a check and stealing the identity of another.  In Florida, a conviction for fraud has several consequences including jail time, fines, restitution payments, and the loss of a professional license.

Heath Care Fraud.   Patients, administrators, nurses and doctors can be charged with health care fraud.  Health care fraud includes double billing, claims for unnecessary medical procedures, prescription fraud, unnecessary and inaccurate insurance claims and more.  Health care fraud applies to Medicaid, Medicare, and private health insurance.  Charges of health care fraud vary in severity depending upon the monetary amount that was defrauded from the heath care company.  Having a conviction for health care fraud on your record can make it impossible to get employment or health care in the future.

Government Fraud.   Government employees, officials and private citizens can be charged with government fraud.  Some examples of government fraud include welfare fraud, workers compensation fraud, social security fraud, election fraud, and securities fraud.  Having  conviction on your record for government fraud can prevent you from receiving government benefits in the future.

Credit Card Fraud.  Credit card fraud usually involves using a credit card that does not belong you, or in obtaining credit used under a false name, or with false information on the application.

Public Corruption.  Public corruption can include bribery, payoffs, embezzlement of public funds, fraud, extortion or misappropriating funds.  Public officials and private citizens can be charged with public corruption.

Embezzlement.   Embezzlement is defined as the taking of another’s property through abuse of an official job or position of trust.  Crimes of embezzlement usually apply to an employee that has stolen from their employer.  The severity of an embezzlement charged depends on the amount of money taken by the employee.  Having a charge of embezzlement on your record can destroy your professional career.

Fraudulent Use or Possession of Personal Identification Information (Identity Theft).  To prove the crime of identity theft, the State must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that:

  • the defendant willfully and without authorization fraudulently used or
  • possessed with the intent to fraudulently use, personal identification information of the victim and
  • the defendant did so without first obtaining the consent of the victim.

Identity theft is a third degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.    

Forgery.  To prove the crime of forgery, the State must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that:

  • the defendant falsely made, altered, forged, or counterfeited a document or
  • passed or offered to pass as true a document and
  • the defendant intended to injure or defraud some person or firm.

Forgery is a third degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

If you are arrested or charged with fraud or other white collar crime, it is important to contact a knowledgeable and skilled criminal defense attorney.  At Winston Law, P.A., we will speak to prosecutors before your case is filed and provide information that may result in the charges being dismissed or lesser charges being filed.  If your case has already been filed, Winston Law, P.A. can explore and develop possible defenses including challenging the validity of search warrants, uncovering police errors during their investigation, challenging the credibility of informants, challenging entrapment tactics used by law enforcement and challenging any other evidence held by the prosecutor.

If you or someone you love has been arrested or charged with fraud or other white collar crime, please contact Winston Law, P.A. at (561) 670-9375 or for your initial consultation.


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