Montgomery County Fraud Lawyer
Fraud in MoCo is any activity that is done by way of some kind of deception to gain a benefit from another party without their consent. There is no real outline of exactly what is fraud. Usually, fraud is based on some kind of an act that is committed by one party against another where the party is trying to gain some benefit by way of presenting something or representing something that is untrue. If you have been accused of fraud crimes, contact a dedicated Montgomery County criminal lawyer with experience in the local courts to help you build a defense for your case.
Examples of Fraud in Montgomery County
Common examples of fraud charges in Montgomery County include identity fraud where someone uses another party’s identity to benefit themselves. That could mean the individual is trying to get access to another person’s accounts, get access to their credit cards, and even open up new credit cards in the other person’s name to benefit themselves. This is a common crime in these times.
Other common offenses include bank fraud where someone presents checks to a bank that are not theirs or are in some way not valid to try to gain a financial benefit from them.
Fraud is found in contracts all the time where someone offers a service to another party in construction or in some other capacity and then does not follow through with the contract. There may be fraud in some way regarding how the contract was signed in the beginning.
Fraud can vary in the way that it is charged and how it is prosecuted.
Risks Involved in Civil Fraud Claims
In criminal cases for fraud where there is a financial detriment to another party, a judge is permitted to order restitution as a part of the criminal case. Sometimes, the other party does not accept that restitution because they want to pursue civil charges. Sometimes, in a civil courtroom, a person is able to get more money as opposed to in a criminal courtroom based on punitive damages, pain and suffering, loss of income, things a criminal judge cannot award to a victim. Civil charges may occur as a result of what happens in a criminal case. When somebody is found guilty in a criminal case, that could be detrimental to them in the subsequent civil proceedings brought against them.
Defenses for Identity Theft Charges
With identity fraud charges, a MoCo fraud attorney tries to determine for what alleged purpose the client use the identity fraud. What benefit did the client gain by way of allegedly committing the identity fraud?
If there was no benefit, the motive is gone. Usually, it becomes more difficult for the government to prosecute that case. Additionally, regarding the person who claims the identity fraud took place, the government needs to consider what benefit or bias they have by bringing these allegations against a person. Usually, identity fraud cases have the financial benefit for the victim if the other person is found to have committed the identity fraud.
There are cases in which someone claims the identity fraud when they do not want to pay their own bills. Later it is revealed that the person alleged someone else opened a credit card for their own benefit and that person had no permission given by the first party to do that. They did not gain any benefit. Those people are committing a fraud when they file a false claim of criminal activity in the case.
Consequences of an Identity Fraud Conviction
Consequences of an identity fraud conviction could be a period of incarceration, probation, and anything that one might see in a criminal case. The judge’s decision on a penalty for the fraud depends on the fraud and how serious and widespread it is. If it is something minor in nature, a person might not see any incarceration. If it was a fraud perpetrated over a long period of time and considered more major in its impact, a person might see a period of incarceration as a result of that case.
Benefits of Retaining an Attorney During a Fraud Investigation
One of the benefits of retaining a Montgomery County fraud attorney when someone realizes they are under investigation for fraud is that their attorney can advise them to cease any suspected fraudulent activity immediately.
An attorney can investigate who is making the allegations of fraud against a person to determine whether that person had any bias or any interest in making these allegations. An investigation could determine whether that bias could get the charges against the person dropped. The government would not have enough information to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.
How a Montgomery County Fraud Lawyer Can Help
It is good to have an attorney present when someone is being questioned by law enforcement because the person does not want to say anything during the course of questioning with law enforcement that makes the case more strong against the individual. Having an attorney present gives law enforcement the impression that the individual is taking the incident very seriously. The attorney’s presence also limits the kinds of questions law enforcement officers try to ask the individual that would tend to incriminate them.
People often think that having an attorney by their side is indicative of them not being cooperative. That is inaccurate. Having an fraud attorney in Montgomery County present during questioning is a representation that is being made to the government that the individual takes the situation seriously. The individual understands its magnitude and wants to be sure that they are protecting their rights in the process to help the matter get expedited.