When many people hear that someone faces criminal charges, they often assume that police performed a brief investigation and took their best suspect into custody. They also often assume that a trial where a jury decides a defendant's fate will soon follow. There's a...
White Collar Crimes
Medical fraud is a hot-button issue: Be careful what you do
Medical fraud has been a political hot-button for a long time, and the rising cost of medical services in this country virtually guarantees that trend will continue. The vast majority of medical insurance fraud isn't the result of people getting benefits they don't...
What are the possible outcomes of a tax audit?
Just because the IRS audits your tax return doesn’t mean they’ll find any wrongdoing. In fact, you may be confident that your return is 100% accurate and you won’t find yourself dealing with any issues. However, there’s never a guarantee when it comes to the IRS and a...
Is it income tax fraud or negligence?
When it comes to the IRS tax code, there’s no denying the fact that it’s complex. And for that reason, the IRS realizes that people can and will make mistakes on their tax returns. However, the IRS also draws a line between fraud and negligence. Income tax fraud comes...
Two Lackawanna County insurance agents charged with fraud
Most insurance agents who deal with residents of Lackawanna County are willing to help their customers submit claims to their insurers, and some even act as advocates for the customer if the claim is rejected. Rarely, however, do these agents attempt to persuade their...
Police seek arrest of contractor charged with fraud
Police are searching for a Lackawanna County man who is believed to have committed several acts of home improvement fraud. The suspect appears to have been part owner of a home construction firm several years ago, but police believe that he has recently been using...
Government contracts and state law
Working with the state government can be lucrative business for all different types of industries. When roads need to be built, the government will ordinarily have to hire a construction firm. Even in the office environment, governments will often rely on outside...
Insurance fraud entails more than staging accidents
When people in the Carbondale, Pennsylvania, area think of insurance fraud, the first thing that comes in to their mind might be someone burning down their own house or staging a car accident in order to collect insurance money that, in reality, they want for other...
Legal secretary charged with stealing $175,950 from employer
Many lawyers rely on their secretaries to handle accounting duties, including depositing receipts and paying bills. Secretaries in this position have frequent opportunities for self-enrichment, but most resist the temptation and follow the highest ethical standards....
What is “white collar crime”?
"White collar crime" is a term most of us have heard before, but you may have wondered to yourself exactly what it refers to and what it means. One thing that is important to understand about white collar crime is that it includes a group of crimes that are taken...