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.