The definitions of many financial crimes include terms like “intentionally” and “without the owner’s consent.” In many cases, there is room for disagreement and misunderstanding about the motives and details that led to the incident for which you are facing criminal charges.
You can be convicted of tax fraud if you intentionally refrain from disclosing some of your income in order to pay less money to the IRS. You are not guilty of tax fraud, however, if you make a mistake on your income tax returns and make reasonable efforts to correct the mistake as soon as you become aware of it.
It is embezzlement if you use company funds to make a large purchase without the consent of your business partners. You are not guilty of embezzlement, however, if you genuinely and reasonably believed that your business partners consented to the purchase and authorized you to make it.
It is natural to wish that you could make your criminal charges go away by laying your cards on the table and letting the truth speak for itself, but that is not how criminal procedure works, and if you try to clear things up by talking your way out of trouble, you could make things worse. No matter how worried you are and no matter how innocent you are, the first person you should talk to about your case is a Texas white-collar crime lawyer.
Mistakes That Can Tank a White-Collar Crime Investigation
To avoid making the situation worse, do not do any of these things when you are under investigation for a financial crime:
● Talking to police – Exercise your right to remain silent instead.
● Destroying evidence – It makes you look guilty, and you might end up destroying a document that could prove your innocence. Besides, tampering with evidence is a crime in its own right.
● Consenting to a search – Don’t let the police search your property unless they have a warrant. They might find evidence they didn’t know they were looking for, and this evidence could make you look guilty.
● Talking to third parties – Discussing a pending criminal investigation on social media is a terrible idea, but even talking about your case with your family and friends is risky. The court could subpoena your family and friends to testify in your case, and you can be sure that your social media posts are admissible as evidence.
Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You, Even If You Have Nothing to Hide
The beautiful thing about the right to remain silent is that not only does it protect guilty people from self-incrimination, but it also protects innocent people from self-incrimination. You will have a chance to tell your side of the story and let the evidence speak for itself. The best thing to do is to follow your lawyer’s advice about what to say and when to say it.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, About Financial Crime Cases
You should hire a Dallas criminal defense lawyer if you are being falsely accused of a financial crime. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, to discuss your case.