White-Collar Crime in Dallas: What You Need to Know About Wire Fraud

Lawyers for white-collar crime in Dallas must find strong defenses to help clients accused of wire fraud. Learn about these defense strategies.

White-collar crimes in Dallas don’t get as much attention as violent felonies because they don’t involve physical injury or physical damage, so the public tends to be less interested in these offenses.

But victims of white-collar crimes can suffer emotional and psychological distress, as well as financial losses that can have long-term consequences.

That’s why the law treats white-collar crime seriously and also why the punishment for some of these types of offenses can be equal to or greater than the punishment for violent crimes.

A wire fraud charge is only brought in federal court and anyone that is arrested on suspicion of this offense must understand the elements that must exist for a conviction, as well as the common defense strategies lawyers use to help their clients.

What Is Fraud?

To understand the elements of wire fraud, it’s important to first answer the question of what fraud is in the eyes of the law.

The legal definition of fraud is any activity to gain money or property by deceiving, misleading, or making false statements to another person.

As with many other types of crime, the intent of the person accused of fraud is the key to determining whether fraud took place.

People that try to defraud others, knowingly make false statements and act in bad faith with the sole purpose of trying to persuade their victims what they’re saying, or selling is true or genuine.

Some of the more common types of fraud include:

• Identity theft
• Insurance fraud
• Credit card fraud
• Securities fraud
• Tax fraud
• Bankruptcy fraud
• Wire fraud

The Legal Standards of Wire Fraud

Wire fraud is a fraud that occurs through phone lines or some type of other electronic communication such as email and is only prosecuted in federal court.

Since a telephone call is communicated over a ‘wire”, the federal government is able to claim jurisdiction because it maintains the power to regulate the use of the telephone for any business. In addition, because wire communications can often cross state lines prosecution lies at the hands of the federal government.

When someone is arrested on suspicion of wire fraud, prosecutors must prove that several elements existed at the time of the crime, including: (1)

• The defendant took part in a scheme to obtain money by defrauding the victim
• The defendant’s intent was to defraud the victim
• It was foreseeable that the defendant would use electronic communications to defraud the victim
• The defendant actually used electronic communications in the scheme to defraud

Prosecutors must prove each element existed before they can get a conviction against a defendant.

Wire Fraud Defenses

Although wire fraud is a serious charge that is prosecuted under federal law, there are some common wire fraud defenses that lawyers can use to help their clients, including:

• Good faith – Lawyers can argue that their client did not intend to defraud the victim, and that any action the client took was done in good faith, and that the victim misunderstood or misinterpreted the defendant’s actions. (2)
• Exaggeration – Lawyers can argue that their client may have exaggerated the qualities or characteristics of an item to persuade the victim to buy that item, but that there was no outright misrepresentation or deception involved.
• The statute of limitations – In some instances, the most effective defense strategy is the fact that the scheme occurred beyond the statute of limitations for the offense. The statute of limitations in wire fraud cases is 5 years, and that time begins with the last email or phone call the defendant made to the victim.

Hiring Lawyers for Wire Fraud in Dallas

Federal prosecutors view wire fraud as a serious offense, so any person arrested on suspicion of this crime must secure the services of lawyers for wire fraud in Dallas. Experienced attorneys can analyze every aspect of the case and are skilled at finding weaknesses that they can exploit.

Dallas white-collar crime lawyers are also able to enter into plea negotiations that can keep their clients out of prison.

Broden & Mickelsen, LLP
Dallas Best Criminal Defense Lawyers
T:(214) 720-9552

Sources:

1. https://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-941-18-usc-1343-elements-wire-fraud
2. https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1266&context=jcred

***ATTORNEY ADVERTISING***

Prior results cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future case.