Taking someone else's identity or using their credit cards is against the law. If you're spending money that isn't yours, you're defrauding others and could be accused of serious federal crimes.
That's part of what allegedly took place in this case that spanned across several cities throughout Georgia. A federal fraud complaint has been filed in the case involving men who are accused of scamming a limousine service and hotels in Georgia.
Most consumers do not check their credit card or bank account transactions regularly. Even with the capability of accessing this information remotely from their own home computers or cellphones, many in Georgia will simply pay their credit card bills without a thought or assume they have a general idea of the balance in their checking accounts. Fraudsters can take advantage of this, sometimes using someone else's account for months before the consumer discovers the theft.
If you have recently reported a discrepancy on your bank or credit card statement, you may be surprised to learn that you may also be the subject of an investigation when authorities look into the matter. In fact, investigators may suspect you of committing one of several types of e-commerce fraud.
White collar crime is usually a nonviolent form of crime. It tends to involve the finances of major corporations or taxes, for example. Selling spots at universities to the Hollywood elite, for instance, is just one example that has been seen in America in the last year.
Did you know that, in 2019, white collar prosecutions fell to their lowest level since researchers began to track the cases in 1998? Even in cases where people are prosecuted, they tend to be lower-level cons or small financial schemes, not the major white collar crimes that you see reported in the news.
Georgia, like most states, has its own way of handling criminal acts. From the possession of a weapon to drug charges, Georgia has laws that dictate how you'll be charged and potentially how you'll be sentenced.
With federal charges, you're dealing with a double blow. A federal case faces federal charges and penalties. Federal offenses, usually felony charges, often come with long prison sentences and severe fines.
Not all cases of fraud are intentional. That might seem impossible, but it's true.
With cases of friendly credit card fraud, a person might accidentally use a credit card, or its terms, in an illegal way. Here's a little more about friendly fraud and why it can lead to jail time and other harsh penalties.
There are many federal crimes that people should not partake in, but one that needs to be discussed is a forgery. Forgery is an interesting kind of white-collar crime. It happens when a person copies or reproduces a document, signature or other item and claims it is the original, authentic item.
Not all instances of putting someone else's signature on a document constitutes a forgery. There are specific rules in place to make sure that only those who intend to harm others through forgery and truly break the law face penalties.
No longer focusing solely on the individual with a substance abuse problem, drug enforcement authorities are now turning their attention to those who supply the opioids. Doctors, pain management clinics and even the pharmaceutical companies themselves have recently faced civil lawsuits and criminal charges for their roles in the opioid crisis. Pharmacists have not escaped the wide net that the federal government has cast.
If you own or work in a Georgia pharmacy, chances are that you have dealt with a doctor or patient whose rate of narcotic prescriptions seemed unusually high. Perhaps you missed the signs, did not want to deal with the red tape or were simply too busy to investigate the situation properly. Unfortunately, if you lose track of how often these situations occur, you may end up holding a subpoena or facing an audit.
Identity theft is a serious accusation to face. It's punishable by high fines and many years in prison. If you're accused of a crime this like, it's important for you to put together a defense for your case.
Take, for example, a case out of Kingston, where a man has been charged with felony identity fraud as well as other charges. He has now been released on bond, but the 37-year-old man is accused of being in possession of another person's credit card without her permission or knowledge. He made three purchases using the card, adding up to around $170. He allegedly signed the woman's name on the receipt during one of the transactions.
A federal crime that many people know about but may not understand is espionage. This crime, associated with spies, takes place when a person obtains secret information and then divulges it to others without the owner's permission. For example, if someone from a busy corporation tells a competitor a secret about the company's latest project, that might be considered industrial or corporate espionage.
Espionage can happen across many sectors. It may or may not involve the government. Often, it involves the military.
The first of the year is coming up quickly, and with it starts a new tax season. At the end of the year, it's the time when you can start verifying your income and gathering up receipts for expenses. Doing all of this, and keeping those documents, helps prove that you're filing your taxes legally.
Some people find that the taxes they owe are higher than expected or that they're very close to a cut-off point where they'd owe significantly less or even get a return. It can be enticing to leave a portion of your income out when you do your taxes, but doing that is like playing with fire.
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507 Walker Street
Augusta,
GA
30901
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