El Paso White Collar Crimes Defense Attorney

Insurance Fraud

Insurance fraud is a white-collar crime that occurs when a person or business intentionally deceives an insurance company to obtain money by knowingly (i) presenting a false claim for payment, (ii) providing false, incomplete, or misleading information concerning a claim, (iii) submitting a false application to obtain an insurance policy or (iv) concealing information regarding an insurance application or claim.

Common insurance fraud schemes in Texas include:

• Stolen car: A car owner selling his or her car to a body shop (or “chop shop”) to be cut up for parts and then reporting the car stolen, or an owner selling a car overseas without any paperwork and then reporting it stolen
• Staged car accident: A driver and an accident “victim” staging an automobile collision to recover money for the auto damages
• Staged home fire: Hiring individuals to set fire to a home or to break in and vandalize the home, creating the appearance that the homeowner had been victimized
• Storm fraud: After hurricanes and floods, homeowners may take advantage of insurers by enhancing the storm damage to their homes or submitting claims for damage that did not occur to obtain a higher payout
• Faked death: An individual obtains life insurance, names his or her spouse as beneficiary on the policy, and then fakes his/her own death so the spouse can obtain the death benefit

The penalties for a conviction of insurance fraud vary based on the amount or value of the claim. For example, a claim of less than $50 is a “Class C” misdemeanor, which carries a $500 fine. In the case of a fraudulent claim of $200,000 or more, the fraud is charged as a first-degree felony, punishable by 5 to 99 years in a state prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Finally, falsifying information on an insurance application will be charged as a state jail felony, punishable by 180 days to 2 years in a state prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

Money Laundering in Texas

The white collar crime of money laundering or “bulk cash smuggling” is a financial transaction scheme designed to integrate funds gained from unlawful activities into legitimate resources while (1) concealing the identity, source, and destination of those funds or (2) conducting or intending to conduct financial transactions with the proceeds of such activity. Financial transactions typically associated with money laundering include large purchases and sales, loans, investments, monetary gifts, wire transfers, bank deposits, and currency exchanges.

Generally, money laundering occurs in three phases:

• Placement: Moving illegal funds from the original source into a legitimate one, such as financial institutions, shops, casinos, offshore accounts, local, domestic, or international businesses
• Layering: Concealing the money trail by converting the funds into monetary instruments such as money orders, or purchasing assets such as real estate and businesses
• Integration: Moving previously laundered money back into the economy, whether by depositing funds into the banking system or through property transactions, fraudulent loans, or front companies

In addition to being a federal offense, money laundering is a felony under the Texas Penal Code. The degree of the felony is based on the amount of money involved. A felony of the first degree, for example, is punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison, and a fine up to $10,000. If you have been charged with money laundering, Benjamin Law Firm will choose the best line of defense.

Mortgage Fraud

Mortgage fraud involves a wide variety of schemes in which individuals and businesses use false information on mortgage documents to defraud a lending institution, such as:

• Providing inaccurate financial information, or forged identification, on a mortgage loan application
• Providing a bank or mortgage lender with altered or forged pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, financial statements, and other supporting documents
• Artificially inflating a real estate appraisal to make greater profits in the resale of a property
• Using a “straw buyer” to qualify for a loan and then selling the property, often in connection with “flipping”
• Taking out a mortgage loan, renting out the property, and not repaying the proceeds of the loan until the property goes into foreclosure, referred to as equity skimming

Mortgage fraud is a white collar crime that can be charged at either the state or federal level, and the penalties vary based on the monetary value involved. In Texas, charges that involve $1,500 or less are considered misdemeanors, punishable by fines, probation, and a short jail sentence. Mortgage fraud cases typically involve much greater amounts of money, however. If the value of the loan is $300,000 or more, mortgage fraud is charged as a first-degree felony charge, punishable by up to 99 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Telemarketing Fraud

There are many forms of telemarketing fraud, all of which involve violating the trust of unsuspecting victims over the phone. 

Common telephone scams involve callers who pose as:

• Bank or credit card employees
• Charities calling for donations
• Contest representative telling victims they have won a contest or the lottery

After targets of these schemes are deceived into believing the call is from a legitimate telemarketer, bank, or government institution, the fraudster then attempts to elicit personal information or obtain money from the victim.

Because the federal government has jurisdiction over national telecommunications networks, telemarketing fraud can be charged as a federal felony offense, often leading to additional charges for mail and/or wire fraud.

Mail Fraud/Wire Fraud

Mail fraud and wire fraud are both state and federal offenses. While mail fraud requires the use of the U.S. postal service to commit fraud, wire fraud involves any fraudulent activity conducted over wire-based communications (e.g. telephone, fax, television, text message, and internet).

A variety of fraudulent activities in Texas, such as forgery, criminal simulation, credit card fraud, and money laundering, can involve the use of mail or wire communication. The penalties for mail and wire fraud under state law are significant, ranging from 5 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 in less severe cases to as much as 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines in aggravated cases.