New York residents might wonder what is meant by the term “embezzlement”. It is a form of theft that happens when an individual steals from funds that are available to them without belonging to them. For example, a store clerk or bank teller might take money on the job. Embezzlement also include theft of property, so if an employee keeps a work laptop or vehicle, that might be considered embezzlement.
New York residents are likely familiar with the controversy surrounding Michael Grimm. The former member of the U.S. House of Representatives has been accused of perjury, filing false tax returns and tax fraud, but he was still reelected overwhelmingly by his Staten Island constituents in the 2014 midterm elections. However, the former U.S. Representative’s good fortune ran out on July 17 when he was sentenced to eight months in prison by a Brooklyn judge.
On July 13, a New York man pleaded guilty to securities fraud after he was accused of being involved in a $6 million Ponzi scheme. The man, who is the son-in-law of a former New York state assembly speaker, allegedly began the scheme in 2007.
When people are accused of committing white collar or other federal crimes in New York, authorities often seize property that they believe was stolen or paid for with the proceeds of criminal activities. In some cases, authorities will freeze all of a defendant’s financial assets even if a large portion of those assets are not linked to any alleged criminal activity.
On March 25, a grand jury indicted a Brooklyn tax preparer on 31 counts of tax fraud. According to reports, the jury found that there was sufficient evidence to show he had been helping clients falsify tax returns from 2008 to 2010. If convicted of the accused crimes, the preparer could face up to three years in prison and fines amounting to $250,000 for each count of tax fraud. Following the indictment, the preparer underwent a trial and sentencing process.
According to city investigators, 50 building inspectors, including the chief construction inspectors for the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, were indicted and charged with accepting bribes in exchange for reportedly ignoring safety problems at building sites around the city. The charges came on Feb. 10 following a two-year investigation.
Under new, more stringent guidelines for prosecuting insider trading issued by a December appellate court ruling, the U.S. attorney for New York has stated charges will be dropped against five men alleged to have used advance knowledge of a forthcoming IBM acquisition to purchase stock in the target company. However, prosecutors have stated they may elect to reopen the charges at a later date.
Before Rudy Giuliani became the Mayor of New York City, he was the hard-charging U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Manhattan. His legacy as US Attorney continues to be his efforts to hold individuals responsible for crimes committed on Wall Street. He arrested and convicted many well-known traders and financiers of the time. In fact, by 1988, Giuliani had brought five times as many insider-trading cases as had ever been brought before in his district.
Today technology permeates almost every aspect of our lives. Just think about how often you use the Internet to submit a form, transfer money or pay bills, communicate with friends and access information. Additionally, companies readily rely upon intranet systems and websites to communicate with employees, track projects, bill clients and store sensitive business and financial data.
When it comes to crime and the criminal justice system, there’s a popular-held belief that the punishment should fit the crime. While one could argue there are no victimless crimes, when it comes to so-called white collar crimes there are certainly wide variances when it comes to severity, impact and intent.