Defending Employees Charged With DC Federal Financial Crimes

If you have been accused of committing a federal financial crime, reach out to a lawyer with experience defending employees charged with DC federal financial crime. A dedicated federal financial crime attorney could fight for you and advocate on your behalf throughout this process. Let a lawyer help you understand your rights and guide you every step of the way. The penalties are too severe to risk moving forward without legal counsel. Call today.

Defending a Company Executive

When an executive is accused of producing or sponsoring an inaccurate or fraudulent financial statement, they face potential consequences. When defending an executive, the lawyer could advocate for them just like any other defendant. The attorney will begin building a defense by interviewing the defendant and witnesses. Also, when defending an employee charged with a DC federal financial crime, the lawyer could engage experts to analyze the financial statements and explore what knowledge the senior executive had with respect to the allegedly fraudulent or inaccurate financial statements.

What Does Corporate Responsibility Mean When it Comes to Financial Records?

Corporate responsibility, in terms of accuracy and completeness of corporate financial records or reports, may arise regarding the concept of willful blindness. An executive cannot pretend they do not know about something. They cannot ignore evidence or put themselves in a position to be unaware of the facts. A corporate executive has a responsibility to know what is going on inside their company to a certain extent. If something is actively hidden from the executive, that is a different with regards to corporate responsibility. However, they cannot be willfully ignorant.

Financial Errors vs. Fraud

There is a difference between errors and fraud. When errors are made accidentally, a person should not face criminal liability. If fraud is committed by someone lower in the organizational chart than the senior executive, the issue becomes what the company senior executive should have known based on their position and whether the information was actively hidden by the person who committed fraud. It is important to know the difference between errors and fraud when defending employees charged with DC federal financial crimes.

Building a Defense for a Non-senior Employee

Sometimes a less senior employee is charged with a financial crime that is not proportionate to their liability. In that situation, one of the key functions of a criminal defense lawyer is meeting with a judge to inform them that the defendant is not responsible for the crime they are accused of, although they may be responsible for something less serious.

The financial crimes attorney approaches the issue as they would approach any other white-collar criminal matter. They would interview anyone who might have information and review related documents to identify potential defenses. Sometimes, the defendant is liable to a lesser degree than what is being charged. This often comes up when negotiating with prosecutors. Prosecutors often take a much broader view of liability than what is actually the case.

Following Supervisor’s Orders When Committing a Financial Crime

When a person is charged with a financial crime after following their supervisor’s orders, they may be able to resolve the issue when negotiating with the prosecutor. Unfortunately, an individual could have exposure for following the directives of their supervisor to commit fraud or financial crime. However, their attorney could make a case to a prosecutor by sharing the fact that the person is young, newly graduated from school, or did not understand that what they were doing was technically a violation of the law.

Many times, employees at that level in the company become witnesses instead of being charged. A prosecutor understands that a jury could be sympathetic to an employee’s situation and would not convict the employee even though technically, the employee may have some liability. For more information about defending employees charged with DC federal financial crimes, contact an attorney today.