Top-rated White Collar Crimes Attorneys

Illinois has a host of laws on the books that can be categorized as “white collar.” Some of the most commonly charged white collar crimes include:

Bribery [720 ILCS 5/33-1]

Bribery is a charge many in Illinois are very familiar with, as two state governors have served jail time as punishment for the crime. Under Illinois law, it is unlawful to both provide and accept bribes. In Illinois, a person is guilty of bribery if he or she:

• Promises to give personal property or an advantage with the intent to influence the performance or function of a public officer, public employee, juror, or witness;
• Unlawfully receives, retains, or agrees to accept any property or advantage with the knowledge it is being received with the purpose of influencing or altering an act related to the employment or function of a public officer, public employee, juror, or witness; or
• Solicits receives, retains, or agrees to accept property or advantage with the understanding that he or she will improperly influence or attempt to influence the performance of any act or function of a public officer, public employee, juror, or witness.

Insurance Fraud [720 ILCS 5/17-10.5]

Insurance fraud is the act of knowingly, attempting, or causing to obtain control over the property of an insurance property by deception through false claims with the intent to deprive the insurance company of its property. Actually receiving insurance benefits is not required for a conviction of insurance fraud.

Forgery

Forgery is a fairly well-known crime, perhaps because of its prevalence in movies and entertainment. The crime is, however, quite more extensive than many understand. In Illinois, a person may be charged with the crime of forgery if he or she knowingly, and with the intent to defraud:

• Makes a false document or alters a document to make it false;
• Issues or delivers such document knowing it to be false;
• Possesses, with the intent to deliver, such a document knowing it has been altered;
• Unlawfully uses the digital signature of another; or
• Unlawfully uses the signature device of another to create an electronic signature of that person.

Money Laundering [720 ILCS 5/29B-1]

It is illegal to knowingly filter illegally obtained money through a series of legitimate transactions in an attempt to hide the original “dirty” source.

Illinois criminalizes many behaviors which are simply variations of fraud or theft. These are crimes that are typically committed with the intent to deprive another person of intimate property or money. Some commonly charged white collar crimes of fraud and theft include:

Embezzlement [720 ILCS 5/16-1]

Embezzlement is a form of theft and charges can be pursued by both the state and federal governments, depending on the facts of the specific case. It is defined as the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person who is entrusted to protect it. Embezzlement is, therefore, slightly different than the traditional crime of theft because it requires an element of trust in protecting the property, whereas theft does not.

Identity Theft [720 ILCS 5/16-30]

Identity theft is a crime which affects thousands of people each year. In Illinois, a person may be charged with identity theft if they knowingly and purposefully obtains, sells, transfers, manufactures, or otherwise uses the personal data of another person without consent or knowledge of the other person. Personal data may include social security numbers, birth dates, bank account information, credit card numbers, and addresses.

Check Fraud [720 ILCS 5/17-1]

Check fraud is a broad term which refers to many financially-deceptive behaviors. Deceptive behavior is defined as:

• Forcing another – through deception or threat – to create a monetary obligation;
• Being an officer or other person in a position of trust at an insolvent financial institution while knowingly receiving or permitting to be received a deposit or investment; or
• Being an officer or other person in power at an insolvent financial institution and knowingly making a false or deceptive statement to the public to promote sales or services.

Common forms of check fraud include forging checks, passing bad checks, kiting checks, and floating checks.

A person may be convicted of writing or passing bad checks in Illinois if he or she:

Issues or delivers a check in an amount greater than $150 knowing it will not be paid and fails to provide funds to cover it within 7 days of receiving notice that it has ‘bounced.’

With the intent to obtain control over property or to pay for property or services, issues or delivers a check or depository slip knowing it will not be paid on two occasions at least 7 days apart; or