Houston Criminal Attorney: Bank Fraud

Bank fraud is a federal criminal offense that involves any scheme to obtain money, assets or other property that is owned or in the control of a financial institution by fraudulent means. Defrauding any institution insured by the federal government is an offense which is taken very seriously.

One of the most common frauds against financial institution involves loan or mortgage applications. During the last decade many representatives of bank and mortgage companies are reported to have surreptitiously encouraged individuals and businesses to misrepresent their income or other information on mortgage applications: if these borrowers don't make their payments the bank's financial departments will look for misrepresentations and if they find anything they will often turn the case over to the feds for prosecution. In essence, the banks and mortgage lenders are trying to use the government  to collect on bad loans they encouraged people to take in the first place.

Bank fraud is also sometimes perpetrated an employee; this constitutes embezzlement, in which a person entrusted with funds or bank property appropriates it for his or her own use or benefit. For example, a bank employee may borrow funds during a personal emergency and then attempt to replace the missing funds undetected, a move that seldom works.

If you have been accused of bank fraud, your defense depends largely on pre-trial research, the defense strategies employed by your attorney and the motivations of the prosecution. While banks may be eager to press charges in these cases, they are generally more interested in recovering the missing funds. In many cases it may be possible to reach a financial settlement that can minimize or avoid entirely prison time. 

If you have been accused of bank fraud, you need an experienced attorney as soon as possible: contact the offices of Kuniansky and Associates at 713-622-8333 or visit www.kunianskylaw.com for a free consultation.

Houston Criminal Attorney: Accounting Fraud

If you believe you may be under federal investigation for a white collar crime, it is critical to your case that you hire a qualified criminal defense attorney right away. Do not risk having your rights violated by neglecting to retain a skilled, experienced criminal defense attorney. Contact the Houston, Texas, law office of Kuniansky & Associates today at 713-622-8333 or visit www.kunianskylaw.com. We will work diligently to ensure your rights are protected.

 While the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 enacted post-Enron reforms, accounting fraud is still rampant in both public and private operations alike. In 2010 the executives at Lehman Bros. were accused of fraud, and the actions of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff were widely publicized. Healthcare South shareholders plan to finalize a settlement agreement in July 2010 against accounting firm Ernst & Young and Swiss bank, UBS AG, seeking restitution for their part in a multi-billion dollar accounting fraud scandal.

Allegations of accounting fraud may cause serious damage to the reputation of any corporation or business.  The majority of accounting fraud investigations stem from authorities pursuing a case where there is suspicion of corporate fraud and there are signs indicating that evidence of falsified statements, documents, and or transactions exist.  In many cases, federal prosecutors and investigators are involved when someone is suspected of accounting fraud. In these cases the federal prosecution often casts a wide net, bringing charges against persons who may not have had any prior knowledge of the deception.

The accounting practices of smaller businesses in regulated industries are also scrutinized in a manner once reserved for public companies.  What were once viewed as honest, innocent accounting errors can be lumped into an overly aggressive investigation by prosecutors and regulators and pursued as a potential violation of the criminal law.  These sorts of investigations often turn upon very specific and technical accounting practices and decisions.  If you are under investigation for allegations of deceptive accounting methods it is important to hire a white collar criminal defense attorney who is experienced in these complex cases.  

Richard Kuniansky has 28 years experience with white collar crime cases and has a unique understanding of the government's strategy. Contact Kuniansky & Associates today at  713-622-8333 or visit www.kunianskylaw.com for committed legal advocacy.