Classification of Crimes


Under Florida’s criminal law, crimes are divided into
two major classifications: felony and misdemeanor.
A felony is generally defined as any crime punishable
by death or more than one year in prison. A misdemeanor
is any crime punishable by imprisonment for less than
one year. Felonies and misdemeanors are further divided
into different degrees, dictating the maximum level
of punishment. In addition, punishments vary depending
on whether a natural person or a corporation commits
the crime.

White collar crime is the most common type of business
crime. White collar crime is generally used to describe
crimes that have cheating or dishonesty as their common
basis. These crimes typically are committed by professionals
or entrepreneurs under cover of legitimate business
activity. Such crimes may be difficult to prosecute
because of their complexity. Often, they carry lesser
penalties because they are not associated with violence.
However, defendants convicted of white collar crimes
may incur enormous fines, be ordered to pay restitution,
lose professional or business licenses or spend time
in jail.
As a practical matter, it is impossible to describe
every activity that fits within the definition of white
collar crime, because white collar crime takes many
forms. Some criminal actions are prohibited by specific
laws narrowly drawn to outlaw a particular activity.
Other actions are not covered by specific laws but
instead are prosecuted under one or more catch-all
laws that criminalize dishonest behavior.






Conspiracy is the term for a broad category of crimes
involving multiple actors coming together to engage
in concerted criminal activity. A person or business
generally is guilty of conspiracy to commit a crime
if that person or business does one of the following:
*With the purpose of facilitating or promoting its commission,
agrees with another person or business to engage in
conduct that constitutes a crime or an attempt or solicitation
of a crime
*Agrees to aid another person or business in planning,
committing or attempting to solicit a crime
The agreement forming the basis for conspiracy need
not be written, oral or even explicit, but often is
inferred from the facts of the specific case. If the
parties meet and reach an understanding to work for
a common purpose, there is an agreement. For example,
if the producers of a particular product meet to exchange
information on prices and later they set identical
prices, a prosecutor may be able to prove they conspired
to set prices even though there was never an explicit
agreement to do so. Most criminal conspiracy statutes
also require that at least one of the parties has committed
an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
A procedural issue of great importance to parties accused
of conspiracy is whether government prosecutors try
to frame the conspiracy as a hub-and-spoke conspiracy
or as a chain conspiracy. In a hub-and-spoke conspiracy,
many parties (the spokes) conspire with one person
(the hub) but not with other defendants. In contrast
to a hub-and-spoke conspiracy, a chain conspiracy involves
several parties as links in one long criminal chain.
Defendants in chain conspiracies are responsible for
the actions of all participants in the chain, even
if they never met some of the other participants in
the chain.
Specific federal anticonspiracy statutes are found throughout
the United States Code. Florida statutes also contain
anticonspiracy laws. In recent years, a growing number
of white collar criminal prosecutions have included
allegations of conspiracy.

Fraud


Fraud is intentionally lying in order to induce someone
into relying on the lie to part with something of value.
Like embezzlement, fraud can be either complex or simple.
The federal government has three general antifraud
statutes for mail fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud.
Mail fraud is a broad crime with two elements: 1) a
scheme, devised and intended to obtain property or
money by fraudulent means, and 2) using the mail in
furtherance of that fraudulent scheme. The “scheme
to defraud” element of mail fraud is deliberately
broad. It encompasses a wide variety of criminal activity,
including credit card fraud, securities fraud, medical
drug fraud and fraud based on political malfeasance.
Because the mail fraud statute uses such broad language
and because it is relatively easy to prove, mail fraud
is one of the most common charges brought by federal
prosecutors. Charges of mail fraud frequently are made
even in cases in which more specific crimes have been
charged.
The federal wire fraud statute is similar to the mail
fraud statute, but requires an interstate or foreign
transmittal of a communication by wire, radio or television.
This interstate requirement sets wire fraud apart from
mail fraud. An intrastate mailing is sufficient to
trigger liability for mail fraud, while an intrastate
wire, radio or television communication is insufficient
for wire fraud liability.
The federal bank fraud statute criminalizes the conduct
of any party who “knowingly executes, or attempts
to execute, a scheme or artifice to defraud a financial
institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses,
representations or promises.” The federal bank
fraud statute is newer than the mail fraud and wire
fraud statutes, so it has not received a great deal
of interpretation in the courts. Because its language
is so similar to that used in the mail and wire fraud
statutes, however, it is expected to be broadly applied
and interpreted.