Seitles and Litwin | Federal White Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer

Tougher sentencing guidelines for white collar crime.

Federal White Collar Crime has traditionally been punished less harshly than violent crimes such as robbery. White collar crime is by definition not violent, and amounts to a crime against property rather than a crime against persons. In financial crimes, for example, a little harm was widely distributed, when compared with the great harm done to a victim of violent crime. The great harm to an individual was seen as much more serious than very small harms that were widespread, and the feeling was that violent criminals should be punished harshly. In such a case, it is imperative to hire a reputable Federal White Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer.

That differentiation seems to be collapsing with the increasingly widespread awareness of the impact that some white collar crime has on other people’s lives. Fraud and other activities can destroy people’s savings, ruin retirement accounts and even result in the loss of homes. The impact on individual lives may be quite widespread and the resultant misery not so different than that experienced by victims of violent crime.

The total misery created by financial crime may be orders of magnitude greater than that caused by a single violent crime. We now live in a culture characterized by a 24/7 news cycle that seems to have widely spread an awareness of the huge potential negative impact of some white collar crime. Stories about the victims of financial crimes, for example, make for compelling journalism, and typically feature stories of seniors losing their life savings or of people losing their homes.

The public generally does not seem to know much about what exactly is criminal about a white collar crime, but is eager to see culprits punished. This is one of the main drivers of harsher sentencing for people convicted of white collar crimes. Another driver of the harsher sentencing of white collar criminals characterizing the last several decades is the recognition that such crimes can inflict real harm on real people, and therefore punishment that is more than nominal better serves justice. Our expert Federal White Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer will put your best interests at the forefront of the defense strategy.

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Some of the sentences meted out by judges for financial crimes are truly harsh. Bernie Madoff’s crimes did a huge amount of harm, but in the end a 71 year old man was sentenced to serve 150 years in prison. It’s not clear if there is any deterring value in the sentence. Sentences like this one can be read as symbolic of law enforcement now taking white collar crime as seriously as any other kind of criminal activity.

If you or someone you know has been indicted with a federal white collar crime, call us today at Seitles and Litwin for a no-cost Case Evaluation. We are the Federal White Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer Miami experts with “Experience You Can Trust!” Call Now (305) 403-8070