The financial penalties for white-collar crime can haunt you for the rest of your life. Some of the penalties are immediate, while others will crop up down the road.
It is vital that you avoid getting a conviction for a white-collar crime so that you do not have to face these life-altering financial consequences. You should work with a white-collar crime lawyer from the beginning.
Initial Financial Penalties for White-Collar Crimes
If you are convicted, the financial penalties for white-collar crime that the judge can impose are varied, but they will have a direct financial impact on you. Also, you will have attorney fees for your representation. The judge can order you to pay:
- Fines
- Court costs
- Restitution
Depending on the type of white-collar crime and the amount of money involved in the crime, the judge could also sentence you to serve time in jail or prison. Some white-collar crimes in Pennsylvania can send you away for up to seven years. Your lost income, while you’re in jail or prison, can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Your family could suffer without your financial support.
Getting Probation Does Not Eliminate All the Consequences of a Conviction
Do not think that everything will be fine if you get probation for a white-collar crime conviction. You could lose your job after getting convicted of white-collar crime, even if you do not get incarcerated. Many employers do not want the liability of having an employee with a criminal conviction, particularly one that involves deception or fraud.
Imagine if you work in a law office, brokerage firm, or bank. They will not want to face the possibility of getting sued by their clients if you mishandle their funds or private information. If you work in a field like home healthcare, carpet cleaning, or plumbing, in which you go into other peoples’ homes, your employer will likely terminate you rather than be at risk of theft claims.
How a Conviction of a White-Collar Crime Can Impact You Financially in the Future
Let’s say that a person is convicted of a white-collar crime. He pays his debt to society and thinks that he will return to his previous life. Before long, he discovers that getting the conviction has changed his entire life path. Here are some ways that a white-collar criminal conviction can devastate a person’s life.
Future Jobs
People are often unable to secure a good job after a white-collar crime conviction because potential employers do not trust convicted criminals. Even if the job has nothing to do with the activity that led to the conviction, many employers will run a background check and disqualify people with a criminal record. If the conviction is not an automatic disqualifier, the employer will likely offer the job to a different applicant who does not have a record.
Higher Education
You might not be able to get into a good college. Highly selective universities get to pick and choose from many applicants. If they have two potential students with similar GPAs, but one has a criminal record, the other person is likely to get chosen.
The Career of Your Dreams
You might have wanted to be a doctor or lawyer or another type of professional ever since you were a kid. After one mistake, you might lose the chance to pursue that dream. Some professions, like medicine and law, do extensive background checks. The state medical board or bar association can deny you a license to practice in their state because of a criminal record.
Military Career
You could be ineligible for a military career or work in homeland security or other fields for which you need a security clearance after a conviction for a white-collar crime.
Social Stigma
You will always live in fear that someone will discover your secret and tell people about your white-collar crime conviction. There is a great deal of social stigma surrounding a criminal conviction. You and your family can face embarrassment and distrust. You might find yourself not invited to participate in community activities like service clubs and other organizations if people find out about your white-collar crime.
These things represent just a few of the possible social and financial penalties for white-collar crime conviction hurting your life. The best way to prevent these things from happening is to avoid a conviction in the first place by working with an experienced criminal defense lawyer right away.
Types of White-Collar Crimes
White-collar crime usually means that a person appropriates money or other assets through the use of fraud or deception, rather than through violence or the threat of violence. There are many kinds of white-collar crime. Here are a few examples:
- Credit card fraud
- Insurance fraud
- Identity theft
- Embezzlement
- Money laundering
- Tax evasion
- Computer crimes
- Other types of fraud
Some white-collar crimes are federal offenses, but others can go through the state courts. Whether your case is in state or federal court, the McKenzie Law Firm, P.C. can help.
After you become a client, you will always be able to get hold of your lawyer. The firm is very accessible through email, telephone, and text messaging.
Call us today at (610) 680-7842 to get started. We can build a defense and protect your legal rights.
