Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Do I need to hire an attorney if I have been falsely accused?”
A recent report indicated that Congressman Madison Cawthorn may have broken the law by participating in an alleged insider trading scheme involving cryptocurrency. Lawmakers called on Congress to investigate Rep. Cawthorn’s activities.
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”
White-collar crimes are serious offenses that should be taken seriously. These crimes are financially motivated and often involve two main components:
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Do I need to hire an attorney if I have been falsely accused?”
Being charged with a federal crime is a very stressful and frightening experience. Many people who are facing federal charges do not know what happens after they are arrested, receive a target letter, or their criminal case in North Carolina is taken to federal court.
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Should I ever plead guilty to a charge?”
A Charlotte woman pleaded guilty in federal court for filing false tax returns. Andrivia Wells, a Charlotte-based tax preparer, entered a guilty plea for three out of 35 counts.
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “I was found not guilty of a charge, buy my record still shows the charge. What is going on?”
Embezzlement is a form of securities fraud. It is widely known as a ‘white-collar’ crime. The State of North Carolina can charge someone with embezzlement if it believes he or she stole money for personal gain while in a position of authority. The most common example of embezzlement occurs when an employee misappropriates funds that belong to his or her employer.
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Should I ever plead guilty to a charge?”
You have probably heard about “Operation Varsity Blues,” the college admissions scandal that is rocking the nation. Evidence of parents cheating, lying, and bribing their children’s ways into top-level schools around the country has taken the news cycle by storm. The public’s interest in the scandal lies partly with who stands accused of these criminal acts. There are many notable celebrities wrapped up in the scandal. One such celebrity is Lori Loughlin, who played the loveable Aunt Becky in the popular sitcom Full House.
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?”
Remember Enron?
It seemed like such a big deal until all the malfeasance that (allegedly) caused 2009’s Great Recession came to light, causing the collapse and usurpation of thousands of businesses large and small, nationwide.
Enron was an energy company. It collapsed. People were mad and, true to form, politicians seized on the madness, blamed their opponents for causing it, and proposed a solution politicians are often (or always) apt to propose: a new law.
Out came Sarbanes-Oxley, an Act designed to combat the kind of white-collar financial fraud that led to Enron’s demise. Like many laws, the Act was written broadly, was “too broad and undifferentiated,” according to United States Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, “with too-high maximum penalties, which give prosecutors too much leverage and sentences too much discretion.”
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?”
Tech industry insiders are guffawing at new cybersecurity initiatives unveiled by the Obama administration. According to insiders familiar with the proposals, new cybersecurity-targeted criminal laws will make criminals of us all.
According to Paul Wagenseil of Tom’s Guide US, the proposed changes to the 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act would “make many commonplace security research practices—and media reporting on those practices—federal crimes.”
Nate Cardozo, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, California, told researchers and intellectual property professionals at a Washington, D.C. conference that sharing passwords for online accounts or even sharing an HBO “GO” password with a friend could constitute felonies under the proposed legislation. HBO—short for “Home Box Office”—is a cable-television based distributor of movies and entertainment programs.
In sum, the proposals “broaden the definition of computer crime and stiffen penalties for existing crimes,” with maximum penalties for violations being pushed from ten years to twenty years.
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”
The North Carolina Insurance Commissioner made an announcement late last month that three people in Union County, NC had been arrested after authorities say they staged car accidents to collect money from insurance companies. The three friends have now been charged with insurance fraud.
The announcement revealed that Shane Glenn, Christina Stegall and Wesley Scarbrough were now facing charges related to their insurance scam. Police say that Scarbrough was driving a rented U-Haul that was used to rear-end a vehicle driven by Glenn and Stegall. The two then filed a claim with RepWest Insurance to collect payment for the damages they suffered.
Police say the U-Haul was only ever rented to carry out the insurance scam. Stegall and Glenn both lied to insurance claims adjusters about their knowledge of the accident, saying they did not know the driver of the U-Haul. Police say the three had been friends for a long time and that the entire incident was carefully orchestrated.
A big push is underway in North Carolina as prosecutors have said they intend to crack down on financial and white-collar crimes this year after what they say has been several years of lax enforcement across the state.
It’s important to understand that white-collar crime encompasses many different varieties of criminal infractions. These can include embezzlement, larceny, passing bad checks even mortgage fraud. Prosecutors say that because of the complicated nature of many of these crimes, new investigative tactics will need to be employed. For that reason, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys has announced the launch of a new financial crimes initiative. 
The group will be using some of the money it received from the National Mortgage Settlement last year to pay for the new division. The group began by officially hiring a new White Collar Crime Resources Prosecutor whose job will be devoted entirely to the prosecution of financial crimes. Tammy Smith has been named to fill the position and she will begin hiring a team of regional prosecutors expected to begin work in mid-February or early March. The team will work with district attorneys across North Carolina to crack down on financial wrongdoers.
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog