Montgomery County Fraud Charges

When a person is alleged to have committed fraud, usually that means that they are involved in falsity to perpetrate a criminal act. This could include lying to someone in order to receive some kind of benefit or misrepresenting themselves to receive some kind of benefit. Frauds are often related to financial criminal activities, but that is not always the case. Montgomery County fraud charges can cover a wide range of criminally-related acts, not just financial ones.

A person should contact a knowledgeable fraud lawyer the moment they find out that they are under investigation for any kind of criminal offense or even if they just think that such an investigation might be coming down the line.

Fraud Further Explained

Fraud can be financially-related criminal activity. It could also be something related to medical care or obtaining prescription medications without a lawful prescription. Some people who engage in fraud are alleged to have engaged in fraud to receive identification. For example, somebody who may not be legal in the country might be trying to apply for a social security number or a driver’s license without actually being eligible to do so by United States law. Fraud cases can pop up for reasons that are outside of just financial criminal offenses.

Montgomery County fraud charges are often investigated before the law enforcement officer conducts an arrest in order to determine whether there is probable cause to arrest someone. This means that people often have advanced warning that they are being investigated for fraud because little clues might pop up in their life, like a bank account that has been frozen, for example.

Common Fraud Charges

The most common type of Montgomery County fraud charges are financially-related, including identity fraud to get somebody’s credit card information or using somebody’s credit cards or bank accounts to access their finances and use them for one’s own gain and benefit. There is also a great deal of prescription fraud in which someone tries to obtain medication to assist a family member who may not be eligible to get those medications or to facilitate an addiction.

How has the Internet Changed the Spectrum of Fraud Cases?

The internet has completely changed the spectrum of fraud cases, especially with anonymous shopping. People give credit card information online sometimes to parties that they do not know or should not trust, and their information can get out to people much more easily. Those kinds of circumstances obviously put people’s personal information in jeopardy and make them the target of other individuals who might be taking that information for fraudulent purposes. In other words, the internet has put a new face on what before seemed to be a much more controlled or contained problem.

Important Evidence in Fraud Cases

Evidence that needs to be collected in a fraud case depends on the kind of fraud that is being alleged. That evidence could include things like bank statements or credit card statements if it was a financial fraud. It could include surveillance from a pharmacy if it was prescription fraud. The type of evidence collected varies on a case-by-case basis.

How Investigations of Fraud Differ from Other Investigations

Investigations for fraud cases are usually much more heavy on paperwork than other crimes. In a financial crime, if a person is alleged to have been involved in a criminal act of some kind, usually the majority of the government’s case is going to be based on records that they are trying to introduce into evidence as proof that a criminal act was committed. Records are not usually introduced in situations involving an assault or a DUI, for example, which are other kinds of criminal investigations that take place. If an individual faces Montgomery County fraud charges, they should retain the services of a qualified fraud attorney that could defend their case.