People accused of crimes do not generally get to choose where they face charges. The location of the crime and jurisdiction rules will determine what courts host their trials. Although Texas does have a reputation for being somewhat harsh toward drug offenders, people...
Federal Crimes
Is there a statute of limitations on federal drug charges?
Imagine the government discovers you manufacture, possess or sell a controlled substance or illegal drug. In that situation, the police can arrest and take you into custody. You could be subject to federal drug charges. In some instances, people commit a drug offense,...
What is white-collar crime?
White-collar crimes are generally defined as financial crimes that do not result in any physical harm. One may think that the government is less likely to push for imprisonment due to the lack of physical harm. This is not true. The government has shown time and time...
Retail businesses can easily be accused of money laundering
Money laundering is different than most other white-collar crimes because it does not deprive a victim of resources. Instead, money laundering involves taking money or assets acquired through illegal activity and falsifying information about its origin. Money...
Human trafficking and forced labor
Certain types of crimes fall under federal jurisdiction for various reasons. Human trafficking is one of those crimes. This offense has two main categories, which are sex trafficking and forced labor. This article provides a general overview of the forced labor...
What must the prosecution prove to convict you of a RICO crime?
RICO is the acronym standing for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Passed into law by Congress in 1970, its original purpose was to fight organized crime. FindLaw explains, however, that, over the decades, the Act expanded to include 35 separate...
What does it mean to place money in money laundering?
Money laundering is a crime that involves taking money derived from criminal activities and moving it through different financial institutions to "clean" it up so authorities cannot trace its ill-gotten origins. The first stage of this process is placement. This is...
How can you defend against fraud charges?
A fraud conviction could be the end of your career. Your employer would likely sack you and other employers would stay well away from you in the future, considering you untrustworthy. On top of that, you could end up being unable to work for months or years due to a...
A look at the SOX Act as it turns 20
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act. The law was enacted in response to some high-profile cases of fraud and irregularities that caused the downfall of energy giant Enron, telecommunications giant WorldCom and other large companies. It...
Former Houston Rockets player allegedly led fraud conspiracy
Typically, doctors and other medical providers are at the center of large-scale health care fraud cases. However, 18 former players for the National Basketball Association (NBA) are facing federal charges for conspiracy to defraud their league’s Health and Welfare...