Fraud and other white collar crime

White Collar Crime includes Fraud offences, Identity crime offences, Forgery Offences, Money Laundering, Taxation offences, Company Law offences, and Environmental offences.

White Collar Crime offences carry high maximum penalties but they can often be successfully defended. At the very least, in almost all cases it is possible to negotiate with the Police or the prosecuting authority to have charges withdrawn.

Common fraud offences include Obtain Benefit by Deception; and Obtain money by False or Misleading Statement s.192E of the Crimes Act 1900.

The matters which determine the seriousness of fraud offences are:

• The amount of money involved;
• The Length of time over which the offences are committed;
• The motive;
• The degree of planning;
• Whether there is a breach of trust.

Other offences related to Fraud in the Act include:

192F Intention to defraud by destroying or concealing accounting records;
192H Intention to deceive members or creditors by false or misleading statement of officer of organisation;

Other sections of the Act relevant to Fraud are sections:

192B Deception
192C Obtaining property belonging to another
192D Obtaining financial advantage or causing financial disadvantage

Offences committed against the Australia Tax Office are often prosecuted under the Criminal Code (Commonwealth) or the Anti Money-Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

Defending White Collar Crime requires a very close and rigorous examination of the prosecution Brief of Evidence. The Brief of Evidence commonly includes Banker's Affidavits and reports by Accountants, as well as the Statement of the investigating Police, ASIC or ATO officers, It often happens that rigorous examination of these documents can reveal substantial gaps in the prosecution case or expose technical defences which can be exploited.

If you cannot or do not wish to defend the charges against you, and if your case proceeds to a sentencing hearing we can assess all mitigating circumstances that may be available to you, such as gambling problems and debt problems, alcohol and depression and we can obtain reports from psychologists and other experts for use in Court so you get the most lenient sentence possible.

At all times we will vigorously pursue your interests whether that involves appearing for you in Court to defend the charges or appearing for you in a Sentence Hearing, or negotiating with the Police, the DPP, the Australian Taxation Office, Australian Customs or ASIC.

North Shore Criminal Law is regularly instructed to defend clients in White Collar Crime prosecutions, particularly complex fraud matters.

William Vahl of North Shore Criminal Law regularly appears in these local courts.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, or are seeking further information on a criminal law matter, call William Vahl of North Shore Criminal Law on (02) 9957 4199 or after hours on 0400 44 64 24.