Criminal Defense Law Blog

Now that tax season is over, you may be worried about getting audited. Common mistakes, such as math errors, and red flags, such as filing a return as “self-employed,” make it more likely that you will be audited. Still, the IRS understands that the tax code is complicated and that people make mistakes. As a…

Any time that the alleged commission of an illegal act involves more than one person, it is possible if not likely that they will be charged with a criminal conspiracy. But what exactly is a conspiracy, and how do prosecutors attempt to prove it in court? Consider an example of a bank robbery in which…

Insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, embezzlement and income tax evasion are different forms of white-collar crime. White-collar crimes charges involve some form of deception, but violence is generally not used to carry them out. Fraud is probably the most common white-collar crime. Unlike a theft crime in which money or personal property is physically removed from…

Fraud crimes are found in the New Jersey criminal statutes and under federal laws, as well. A broad definition of fraud would be the intentional use of deceit or deception by an individual for his or her personal or monetary benefit. Most crimes involving fraudulent conduct fall under the category of white collar crime charges…

The general notion of forgery is of someone signing another person’s name on a document for financial gain, such as writing a check on someone else’s account or creating a fake will. While these examples are correct as far as they go, they do not capture the full meaning of how New Jersey defines the…

Many crime drama television programs feature scenes of contentious negotiations between prosecutors and defense attorneys as the latter attempt to find a way to reduce the charges or the possible punishment against their clients, commonly known as plea bargaining. But how does this concept work in actual practice when one is faced with federal charges?…

If you have ever watched a movie on disc at home, then before or after the feature presentation you will see a notice warning about the perils of copyright infringement if you make an illegal copy of the movie. But what is a copyright, exactly, and what are the penalties if you are convicted of…

There is a saying, perhaps cynical, that “Character is what you are in the dark.” In a sense, the Internet is one way in which this notion can find expression, based on the sense of anonymity that it can create. People may be tempted to write or even to do things online that they might…

The proliferation of computers, smartphones and tablets has caused an explosion in the use people make of social media. Use of the Internet to share information with friends and acquaintances has vastly improved the ways in which people can communicate with each other. Unfortunately, social media has also given rise to Internet crime in the…

In an earlier post we introduced the subject of how the concept of due process interacts with the criminal justice system. Although not all of the amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution are related to procedural due process, the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th Amendments are directly connected to it.…