Sound Advice Backed by Experience
Get Started Now

White Collar Crime Criminal Defense Lawyer


White collar crime presents a problem to both prosecutors as well as criminal defense lawyers because it is complicated. Proving that someone shot another is so much less complicated than proving that someone is writing bad checks.

Recently, I defended an individual who made an eighteen thousand dollar deposit into a new account and three days later, went to the bank where he had deposited the money and instructed the teller to write five cashier's checks where the total amount of the cashier’s checks was thirteen thousand dollars.

The problem was that the checks he had deposited into the new account never cleared – they all bounced. The cashier had every right to deny him his request to refuse to issue the five cashier's checks – but she was talking away and failed to look up his account on her little computer screen to find out that the checks he had deposited from his other account had bounced or had not cleared. The bank went to the local police department, who filed a report and the District attorney’s office filed a bad check charge.

The problem was – HOW DO YOU WRITE A BAD CHECK TO YOURSELF??? The case was dismissed three times at the preliminary hearing. The District attorney handling the case just did not get it!! I could have made a case if I had been the prosecutor after years representing banks as well as companies involved in commercial transactions, but I certainly was not going to educate my opponent while the case was pending. Eventually, we resolved the case in civil court and paid the bank back its money. No criminal case was ever charged.

The moral of the story – white collar crime is generally more complicated and contains more parts and pieces than your typical robbery. It includes cyber-crime, embezzlement, employee theft, bad checks, insurance fraud and a host of crimes of which the normal person is not aware.

Several important points to remember:

  • First, don't talk. Chances are that you may know more than the arresting officer and explaining anything will be held against you. Retain counsel immediately and let your lawyer do the talking.

  • Retain a lawyer with both criminal defense experience as well as complex civil experience. Half of the criminal defense lawyers don't know that the corporation's code, the DRE regulations, the commercial code, the business and professions code even exist.

  • Be prepared to embark upon a paper intense defense where it may be necessary to have your white collar crime defense lawyer educate the judge as well as the prosecutor.

  • At the law offices of Charles M. Farano, we have the benefit of 32 years of experience in both complex civil litigation as well as complex criminal defense.

Defense Lawyer Charles M. Farano has represented persons accused of:

  • • cyber crime

  • • bad checks

  • • employee theft

  • • embezzlement

  • • insurance fraud

As experienced white collar crime defense attorneys, we are familiar with the complexities of:

  • • Corporations code

  • • DRE regulations

  • • Commercial code

  • • Business and Professions code