How To Protect Yourself In A White Collar Investigation
At first glance
it seems that financial fraud is not properly prosecuted and that the
Department of Justice is failing but the truth is that the white collar
convictions are quickly growing. Knowing as much as is needed about this topic
and protecting yourself in a proper way is a clear necessity. Always remember
the following to be better protected against white collar
investigations.
Understand Counsel Privilege
Executives think
that talking to corporate counsel is privileged information so they will talk
about anything that is going on. The problem is that communications between
executives and company counsel will be privileged but only for the company. The
same does not apply for the employee. Companies can determine if a specific
conversation is a privilege or not. Employer loyalty is something that we
expect but that is not something that is always going to be applied.
Email Communication Can Be Used In Court
It is very
important to be extremely careful about all that you say through email
communications. All emails that are sent will be preserved and can be accessed
by the government whenever they want to. You should always avoid loose or
aggressive dialogue through emails. Even if you use statements that are vague like
“killing the competition” or “let’s not talk in emails” can raise red flags.
All delicate subjects need to be handled via telephone or better yet, face to
face.
Discretionary Accounting Is Dangerous
When profitability is highly dependent on
accounting
it is a huge risk. Prosecutors can so easily say management was deceived or
pressured by accountants into making some specific market moves. If there is
any accounting maneuver that seems to be shady, do not use it. Accounting may
seem to be boring but accounting fraud is among the most common of the white
collar crimes. Unfortunately, the non-accountants are normally the ones that
end up faced with the fraud charges.
Whenever Something Feels Wrong, Be Careful!
Most of the
defendants in white collar law suits can easily say when they thought that a
problem appeared in business dealings. They often say that they did want to
speak up but that did not happen. Inaction will always lead to problems and if
there is anything that seems to be wrong, there is a huge possibility that this
is exactly the case.
Attempted Cover-Ups Are Worse Than White
Collar Crimes
An attempt to
cover up what happened is normally what leads to the conviction in most white
collar cases. Failed cover-ups are basically becoming the main focus the
prosecution has as the crime is a lot simpler to prove. Cover-ups are also
often seen as proxies for having criminal intent. In a white collar crime the
most powerful defense is the one when you say that you did not know that you
did something wrong. Unfortunately, this is a defense that will be entirely
compromised if some actions were taken to hide what happened. If you are
investigated, avoid trying to find angles to avoid it. Hire attorneys and say
nothing until you receive guidance.
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