Orange County & Los Angeles
White Collar Crime Defense Attorney
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The Short Answer
White collar cases (embezzlement, fraud, forgery, identity theft, extortion) are usually won or lost long before trial, in the documents and in the pre-filing window. They rarely turn on whether something happened and almost always on intent: did you act with intent to defraud, or was it a mistake, an authorization you had, or a business dispute dressed up as a crime? These cases also carry outsized collateral damage to professional licenses and immigration status, and aggregate-loss enhancements can add years, which is why early, document-focused defense matters so much.
A white collar investigation feels different from other criminal cases. There is often no arrest, just a letter, a subpoena, or a call from an investigator, and the people accused are usually professionals with careers, licenses, and reputations that a charge alone can damage. What you do in those first quiet weeks, before anything is filed, frequently decides the entire case.
Farris Law Firm defends white collar and fraud allegations across Orange County and Los Angeles with total discretion and a document-first approach. These cases reward the deep, unhurried preparation a limited-caseload firm can actually provide.
White Collar and Fraud Charges We Defend
Embezzlement (PC 503)
Theft by someone entrusted with money or property, from employees to fiduciaries. The trust relationship is what makes it embezzlement.
Identity theft (PC 530.5)
Obtaining or using another person's identifying information for an unlawful purpose. A wobbler with serious exposure.
Credit and debit card fraud (PC 484e to 484j)
Theft, forgery, and fraudulent use of access cards. Charged as petty or grand theft depending on value.
Forgery (PC 470)
Signing another's name, or making or altering a document, with intent to defraud.
Extortion (PC 518)
Obtaining property or an official act through wrongful threats, including threats to expose. A felony.
Fraud offenses generally
Insurance fraud, real estate and mortgage fraud, check fraud, and related schemes, all built on the same intent-to-defraud element.
What Makes White Collar Exposure Grow
Most of these offenses are wobblers tied to the $950 value line, but aggregate losses and enhancements are what turn a case serious. Restitution is almost always part of the conversation.
| Charge | Level | Exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Value $950 or less | Often misdemeanor | Up to 6 months to 1 year county jail |
| Value over $950 | Wobbler | Up to 1 year jail, or 16 months to 3 years as a felony |
| Aggravated white collar enhancement (PC 186.11) | Enhancement | Added years for patterns of fraud over $100,000 or $500,000 |
| Collateral | All fraud convictions | Crimes of moral turpitude: professional license discipline and immigration risk |
How White Collar Cases Get Won
These cases are about intent and documents, and both cut in the defense's favor more often than prosecutors admit:
- No intent to defraud: mistakes, accounting errors, and good-faith belief are complete defenses
- Authorization: you had permission or a genuine claim of right to the money or property
- A civil business dispute, not a crime: many prosecutions are contract fights in disguise
- Insufficient documentary proof: paper-heavy cases collapse when the paper does not actually show intent
- Pre-filing intervention: presenting exculpatory records to prosecutors before charges are ever filed
- Restitution and civil compromise that resolve matters without a criminal conviction
Frequently Asked Questions
I got a letter from an investigator but I have not been charged. What should I do?
This is the most important moment in a white collar case, and the answer is: call a lawyer before you respond to anyone. The pre-filing window is where these cases are quietly won, because we can present records and context to the prosecutor that stop charges from being filed at all. Do not turn over documents or give a statement first.
Will a fraud conviction affect my professional license?
Very likely. Fraud, embezzlement, and forgery are crimes of moral turpitude, and licensing boards (medical, legal, real estate, securities, accounting) treat them harshly. We build the defense around your license from day one, aiming for outcomes that minimize or avoid what you ever have to report.
Can I make the case go away by paying the money back?
Restitution matters and can be part of a resolution, sometimes through civil compromise that leads to dismissal, but do not start writing checks or admitting anything before a lawyer structures it. Paid the wrong way, restitution becomes an admission the prosecution uses against you.
How is intent to defraud proven?
Usually through circumstantial inferences from documents and conduct, which means it is genuinely contestable. An error, an authorization, or an honest business disagreement is not fraud, and the prosecution's inference of criminal intent is often the weakest part of its case.
Charged or under investigation? Talk to a defense attorney tonight.
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