White Collar Criminal Investigations in Maryland
If you have been accused of committing a white collar crime, the following is what you should know about investigations in Maryland. To help build the strongest possible defense for your charge schedule a consultation with a Maryland federal criminal defense lawyer today.
What Happens First in a White Collar Crime Case Before The Arrest?
It depends on what kind of crime is involved but more often than not in White Collar Criminal cases, the investigation actually happens in advance of an arrest taking place. Often, we see people, who are charged with criminal acts like driving under the influence of alcohol or assault, charged with the criminal act almost immediately after it occurred. They get pulled over and then they are charged with the crime or somebody assaults somebody, the police are called, and then the charges are pretty expeditiously filed.
However, when it comes to White Collar Criminal cases more often than not the investigation is happening well in advance of somebody being formally charged with the criminal act. So, if we think about a case like a check fraud case where somebody cashed a check or attempted to cash a check that might be fraudulent, they are not going to get arrested right there at the scene. While there might be some suspicion from the bank and the bank might actually even deny depositing the check or cashing it for the individual, there still needs to be an investigation first.
The bank might then report to their own crime prevention people who then might report it to the police who then might pull video surveillance from the bank to try to investigate whether or not the criminal act has actually taken place.
An investigation before an arrest takes place has a downside to criminal defendants in that most of the times when somebody is charged in a White Collar Criminal case you can expect that the officer and charging body, whether it is some police agency or whether it is actually a federal or state prosecutor’s office, usually has gathered enough information to feel confident of the criminal charges that they are bringing. They also feel some level of confidence that those criminal charges will go forward successfully in court.
How Are White Collar Crimes Investigated Differently Than Other Crimes?
White Collar Crimes are investigated differently than other crimes for a couple of reasons. Often in White Collar Criminal acts, the crime is not something that somebody witnessed. For instance, in a shoplifting case it might be that somebody walked into a store, grabbed something, and walked out of the store with it. In a case like that, the investigation is usually not going to be very extensive. There will be one or two witnesses who testify in court about what happened and that will be the extent of the evidence.
White Collar cases usually involve much more investigation for a few reasons. First, it is not often easy for one witness to identify somebody of having committed the act itself. Second, White Collar Criminal cases usually require a lot of documents to support whatever claim is being made by the alleging body about a criminal act that took place. In order to get those documents into evidence the police and the investigating bodies need to make sure they have all their ducks in a row. All the documents, video surveillance, and bank records need to be properly authenticated so that they can be used in criminal court.
The government may feel like that they have a fantastic case against the person who they are charging but if they can’t get the documents or the records in to prove the criminal charges that they are alleging, then the case will not go anywhere.
Therefore, the investigation in a White Collar case is going to be far lengthier than that in a regular criminal case because it is going to be relying on different kinds of evidence than a regular criminal case might.
How Are White Collar Criminal Investigations Conducted? What Rules Are Commonly Used in These Investigations?
Usually in White Collar Criminal investigations, we are dealing with police departments and prosecutors that only handle those kinds of investigations. Regular criminal activities are investigated by one officer who handles drug cases, domestic violence cases, and drunk driving cases. When it comes to White Collar Criminal activity, the agencies of the police department and the prosecutor’s office specialize in only these particular cases.
When they are conducting their investigations you can expect that they are doing it based on years of experience that they have in that particular arena. They are going to be well-versed in what they need to look for in terms of their investigation and how they need to prep their cases in order to make sure that they have the best chance for success in courts.
The important thing to remember about these cases is that the experience of the departments works to the benefit of all people that are involved because these prosecutors, detectives, and agencies that are involved in the investigation of the White Collar cases also are aware when there is no case there. Due to their specialized experience, they are able to also close out investigations that might be frivolous or may not yield a result that is positive for the government in court. They won’t waste resources in continuing with an investigation that is flawed or incorrect.