An Illinois man will serve 68 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in stealing from his employer. According to federal authorities, the man stole CPAP machines from his employer and sold them to third parties. An internal audit caught unexplained and excessive shipping costs from a single outlet in Illinois.
The defendant had fabricated a business identity to communicate with customers and pay himself using an alias. The fraud allegedly netted the defendant over $1 million in proceeds. He was also charged with failing to report the income on his tax returns and laundering the money.
The defendant qualified for enhanced charges because he was a branch manager at the time of the offense. Managers and others in positions of authority are considered executives who have a fiduciary duty to their employers. In this case, the defendant was accused of abusing his position of trust and exploiting it to turn a profit.
Understanding Wire Fraud Charges
Fraud charges are mostly the same, the question is how the fraud was committed. In this case, the fraud was committed using telephonic or electronic means which then gets charged by federal prosecutors as wire fraud. Fraud targeting the health care system, the government, entitlements, or involving multiple states are almost always charged by the federal government. The federal government also has forensic accountants on hand to help prove their cases. State governments prosecute identity theft and credit card fraud more frequently whereas the federal government tends to prosecute white-collar fraud crimes more frequently.
Unfortunately, it is worse to be charged by the federal government than the state government in most cases. Not only are the penalties harsher, but the mandatory minimum sentences leave judges with little room to diverge from sentencing restrictions. The federal government uses a chart to determine how many years a defendant should get after a conviction. Judges abide by the chart in the majority of cases.
In this case, the two charges of wire fraud and money laundering could have added up to a 40-year prison sentence. Instead, the defendant will serve less than six years, will be required to pay nearly double the amount stolen, and will be on three years of supervised release after being released from prison.
Defenses to Fraud in Illinois
Fraud is a crime of intent which increases the prosecution’s burden of proof in criminal cases whether it is the federal or state government trying the case. So, in order to prove you are guilty of fraud, the government must prove you intended to deceive. In most cases, defendants say there is no evidence of intent and that any questionable transactions were made in good faith.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney Today
At Glasgow & Olsson, our award-winning criminal defense lawyers have a proven track record of success in many high-profile state and federal criminal cases. Contact Glasgow & Olsson today to schedule your initial consultation to learn how our legal team can fight for your rights if you have been charged with a crime.