If you are like many people in New York, you may often struggle to understand some white collar crime charges. Most of these cases center around a person, a group of persons or a company earning a profit from their actions. This in and of itself is not only not illegal but is central to a healthy capitalist economy. The line between what is legal and what is illegal when it comes to making these profits can be quite thin and blurry at times.
As explained by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, there are numerous actions that may contribute to criminal charges involving fraud. One of these is offering to sell shares in a then-private company prior to the company completing an initial public offering. Another situation that may result in criminal allegations is when a person or entity requests payment from a client at the outset of a deal. This is referred to as advanced fee fraud.
In a Ponzi scheme, people are promised extremely high return rates with little to no risk. In a pyramid scheme, people are promised extremely high return rates in a very short period of time. In these situations, there is also a heavy emphasis on recruiting new members into the scheme.
If you would like to learn more about different types of activities that may look like some forms of alleged fraud and how to protect yourself against unsubstantiated or unfair criminal allegations, please feel free to visit the white collar crimes page of our New York fraud and criminal defense website.