What is “White Collar Crime”?
White collar crime is not a specific offense. The Illinois Revised Statute does not have a specific “White Collar Crime” offense. Rather, “White Collar Crime” refers to a general type of offense that someone commits for money (financial gain) and that does not involve violence. In short, a person uses a pen rather than a gun.
Specific Offenses that Fall Under “White Collar Crime”:
Embezzlement, theft, and removing property from one’s employer all fall under “White Collar Crime.”
How to Defend Against a Charge of White Collar Crime:
I fight a white collar crime charge the same way I fight any criminal charge. In other words, I obtain all the police reports and evidence that the state’s attorney has, including video. I also review all the evidence and meet with my client to learn his or her side of the story.
Once I have a full understanding of what the prosecutor’s case is and what my client’s side of the story is, I set forth a plan to proceed and explain the plan to my client.
In most cases, I file pretrial motions. The benefit of pretrial motions is that they provide an opportunity to challenge the prosecutor’s case while obtaining the state’s witnesses’ testimony. Once the defense files pretrial motions, the prosecutor may reach out to the defense to make an offer to avoid the defense conducting the hearing. In most cases, the best offer that is available is usually made on the morning that the hearing is scheduled.
A hearing is different from trial because, at a hearing, a judge doesn’t decide if you’re guilty or innocent but rather decides a smaller issue such as whether the police had a reason to stop you or whether a police officer administered a breathalyzer test correctly. At a trial, however, a judge determines if a person is guilty or innocent.
For more specific information and to review the facts of your case, call Attorney Young for a no-obligation consultation.