Montgomery Fraud Lawyer

Montgomery Fraud Attorney

Fraud is a broad legal term used to describe a variety of criminal charges that can include insurance, mortgages, corporations, healthcare, identity theft, investments, and others. Fraud is generally a white-collar crime, which means that people are often charged with these crimes in relation to their professional capacity. If you’re facing fraud allegations in Montgomery, a fraud lawyer at The Law Office of Richard K. Keith can ensure your rights and freedom are protected.

Fraud in Alabama

Fraud is when someone deceives or misrepresents the facts in order to gain benefits or advantages, which are often related to finances. It can often involve deceptive practices, hiding information, and falsifying documents. A criminal defense lawyer may handle cases involving such allegations. Fraud may be committed by individuals, groups of individuals, companies, or other organizations. Victims may also be individuals or organizations, both from employees or people outside the organization.

In Montgomery, the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Major Crimes unit is usually in charge of investigating fraud. Depending on the circumstances of the case, other agencies involved may include the Montgomery Police Department, the Department of Revenue, and federal agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The most recent information by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that in 2024, Alabama residents lost $103.8 million to fraud in 22,950 reports. Fraudulent investments, romance scams, and schemes that involve impersonating businesses or government employees caused the most financial losses.

Common Kinds of Fraud

Because fraud covers a range of charges, it can happen in many industries or settings. Some of the most common kinds of fraud include:

• Mortgage fraud. Can be perpetrated by mortgage providers, brokers, real estate agents, or individual borrowers and often includes reporting higher income or assets, or false employment or credit history in order to get a mortgage approved when the borrower does not qualify.
• Insurance fraud. Examples include overstating the value of stolen items, exaggerating an injury from an accident, causing or staging an accident to collect an insurance settlement, reporting incidents that never occurred, or otherwise falsifying information to inflate the amount of money insurance needs to pay for a claim.
• Healthcare fraud. Providers may bill for services not provided, unnecessary procedures, or more expensive treatments or services than those that were provided; falsify patient records; misrepresent medical necessity; or accept incentives or payments for using certain facilities, providers, treatments, or other resources.
• Identity fraud. Also called identity theft, where someone uses another person’s information, such as bank account or credit card numbers; personal information like name, address, driver’s license number, or social security number; or other official information to make purchases, take out loans, or conduct other financial transactions with the stolen information.
• Online fraud. Common scams involve a person receiving messages from someone claiming romantic interest, affiliation with a charity or company, or other means to steal login or payment information or trick someone into sending money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other assets.
• Corporate fraud. A common example is an employee embezzling or otherwise misappropriating assets or money from their employer or customers to use for personal benefit.
• Investment fraud. A person promises to invest money on behalf of someone else but then uses the money for personal gain. Common examples include Ponzi and pyramid schemes or scams involving real estate, cryptocurrency, or promissory notes.

Penalties for Fraud

Since fraud is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of criminal offenses, the degree of charges and severity of punishments for conviction also varies widely. Factors include the actual charge, the amount of money involved, whether there are multiple instances, and who the victim is, among others. Some common fraud charges and their penalties in Montgomery are:

• Forgery – misdemeanor or felony, up to $30,000 in fines and 20 years in prison
• Credit card fraud – felony, up to $15,000 in fines and 7 years in prison
• Theft by deception – misdemeanor or felony, up to 20 years in prison
• Identity theft – felony, up to $30,000 and 20 years in prison

It is important to note that most fraud charges require the prosecution to prove intent to defraud. Some cases may also be prosecuted as federal charges. Most felony charges have a five-year statute of limitations, while misdemeanors have a one-year statute of limitations. This is the amount of time after a crime is committed that the person can be charged for the offense.

FAQs About Montgomery, AL Fraud Laws

The Law Office of Richard K. Keith – Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney

The trusted legal team at The Law Office of Richard K. Keith has been providing high-quality criminal defense for more than 30 years. If you have been charged with a fraud-related offense, contact our office today to schedule a consultation and learn your legal options.