Articles Posted in White Collar Crimes

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Our cell phones contain a lot of personal information, from credit card numbers to our bank info, photographs, text messages, call logs, and more. Should all of this information fall into the hands of the wrong person, it may be used against an individual.

A part of the Miranda rights states a suspect has the right to remain silent. But what about smartphones? Can your phone “speak on your behalf”? Are law enforcement officers allowed to force you to turn over your phone and online records?

The simple answer to this is no, a police officer cannot simply seize your phone. Since your phone belongs to you, a warrant is required for an officer to seize it or look at it. The same thing applies for access to phone records from your wireless provider.

This past Wednesday, the 3rd of August, a 51-year-old woman was booked into the Palm Beach County jail on charges that she had forged more than $23,000 worth of checks. This news caught the attention of all criminal defense lawyers, who defend against fraud charges in Florida. Donna Allen, the accused, had allegedly stolen the checks from an elderly couple she worked as a driver for.

Fraud, traditionally a white-collar crime that occurs at the corporate level, also makes the occasional appearance in cases such as this. As a Miami criminal defense attorney, I am very familiar with defending clients against accusations of fraud, and it is clear to me that Ms. Allen would be best served by securing the services of a competent criminal defense lawyer because white collar crime is now receiving the same sort of attention that other forms of crime have long-received.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office probable cause arrest affidavit states that Allen is allegedly responsible for forging forty-six checks from three separate bank accounts belonging to Rosanna and Albert Springer of Lake Worth, Florida. She was charged with forty-six counts each of forgery, of uttering a forged instrument, and one count each of grand theft from a person 65 years of age or older and of organizing a scheme to defraud. Her bail has been set at $286,000. The guilt of Ms. Allen apparently does not remain in question, making it the job of a qualified criminal defense lawyer to secure for her the best treatment possible.

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