Skilled San Antonio Attorney Defends Clients Charged with Federal Fraud

Respected Texas fraud defense lawyer combats accusations of deception

Any federal charge demands skilled defense representation. At my San Antonio firm, Kevin L. Collins, P.C., I draw on more than 27 years’ experience as both a prosecutor and defense attorney to provide sound legal representation to Texans charged with a variety of federal fraud crimes. I know that the full resources of the federal government will be brought to bear in your case, requiring a defense that’s up to the challenge. I am fully prepared to defend you against federal fraud and other serious charges.

Federal law prohibits several types of fraud

Fraud can be described as an intentional deception or misrepresentation for the personal benefit of the person engaging in the fraud or another person other than the victim. Because federal jurisdiction is constitutionally limited, the U.S. Code prohibits fraud in specified circumstances. These include:

• Mail and wire fraud —This is one of the broadest categories, prohibiting the use of the mail, telephone, internet, television, radio or other forms of electronic communication as part of a scheme to defraud. For instance, if a defendant sends out a fraudulent mailing, wires the money received and communicates with his or her co-conspirators by email or telephone, each of those actions would justify a charge of mail or wire fraud.
• Securities fraud — Securities fraud involves any intentional misrepresentation or misleading omission of material fact involved in the purchase or sale of a stock, bond or other product sold in the securities or commodity futures markets. These misstatements and omissions may occur in prospectuses, phone calls to investors, SEC filings, press releases, press conferences or by other means. Securities fraud also includes instances in which someone purchases or sells securities in reliance on information not available to the public, a practice known as insider trading.
• Tax fraud —Tax fraud involves a taxpayer trying to avoid paying taxes by such methods as failing to report or underreporting income, over-reporting deductions, reporting nonexistent deductions, or creating fake “tax shelters” for other taxpayers.
• Medicare and Medicaid fraud —This occurs when a doctor, hospital or other healthcare provider attempts to collect illegitimate reimbursements from Medicare or Medicaid by practices such as overbilling or billing for unnecessary or nonexistent medical treatment.

Why your choice of counsel is so important in a federal fraud case

As a white collar criminal defense attorney with decades of experience, I know that fraud crimes are usually prosecuted as felonies, which may carry prison sentences and steep fines. The amount of prison time will depend on the crime charged and the defendant’s criminal history but can range up to as much as 30 years in prison. The size of the fines also varies and can be as high as millions of dollars for companies and hundreds of thousands of dollars for individuals. The defendant may also be ordered to pay restitution to the victims. If a defendant is given probation, which will avoid prison time, it will still require him or her to report regularly to a probation officer and subject the probationer to certain conditions. The federal government has almost unlimited resources to devote to the prosecution of fraud. If you are charged with or investigated for fraud, it is essential to retain criminal defense counsel who understands the federal court system and federal fraud law.

Contact a San Antonio federal fraud defense attorney

If the federal government investigates or charges you with any type of criminal fraud, Kevin L. Collins, P.C. in San Antonio provides experienced defense representation. Call me at 210-598-8629 or contact me online to schedule a consultation.