WHITE COLLAR CRIMES ATTORNEY IN DALLAS, TEXAS

White collar crimes happen for a number of reasons. Sometimes, an employee makes a simple miscalculation. At other times, they feel pressured by their bosses to get results by any means necessary. Iin many other scenarios, they simply take an action without realizing its legal implications.

No matter the story behind your white collar crime accusation, the fact remains the same: you need an experienced criminal defense attorney. Fortunately, there is just such a lawyer right here in Dallas County. Tom Cox has nearly three decades of experience pushing back against all manner of criminal accusations, including those pertaining to theft, fraud, credit card abuse, and forgery.

THEFT & EMBEZZLEMENT

Generally, when you hear the term “theft,” you think of a robber taking money from a store or perhaps a worker swiping cash from the company register. But in reality, theft isn’t always so clear and direct. In the white collar world, what starts out as a few borrowed dollars from the company pot can quickly turn into full-on embezzlement. In Texas, the penalty for this action only increases as the monetary value goes up:

FRAUD-RELATED CHARGES

Fraud charges are extremely wide-ranging. Essentially, any service you provide or product you produce could turn into a fraud accusation if not handled correctly. For instance, here are some of the most common fraud-related charges we see in our practice:

• Deceptive trade practices

• False advertising

• Financial services fraud

• Investor fraud

• Telemarketing fraud

• Mail fraud

• Pension fraud

• Defective products

Depending on how severely the so-called fraud impacted others, the penalty for fraud in Texas could be anywhere from six months in prison and a $10,000 fine to life imprisonment or the death penalty.

CREDIT CARD ABUSE

Credit card abuse can include stealing another person’s credit card, selling another person’s credit card, or using another person’s identifying information in order to pay for something. In the state of Texas, a person convicted of credit card abuse could be charged with either of the following:

• State felony, which means six months to two years in state jail and up to $10,000 in fines

• 3rd-degree felony, resulting in two to ten years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines

FORGERY

At its core, simple forgery is considered a Class A misdemeanor in Texas, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $4,000 in fines. However, the more official the documents being forged, the more severe the penalties become.

Forgery becomes a state jail felony when the document in question is a mortgage, will, deed, credit card, or check. The crime becomes a 3rd-degree felony when the document is government-issued, such as a license, certificate, permit, postage, or money itself. The penalties for these levels of forgery are the same as those for credit card abuse: up to two years in state jail and $10,000 in fines for the state felony; up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines for the 3rd-degree felony.