A Maryland white collar crime is generally understood to include economic crimes such as fraud, tax evasion, perjury insider trading, bribery, money laundering, forgery, corruption, counterfeiting, embezzlement, anti-trust violations, and RICO violations. There are many different specific white collar crimes in Maryland that are included within these variations of white collar crime.
White Collar Crimes in Maryland
Maryland fraud crimes involve actions performed with the intent to deceive another. Maryland fraud crimes include passing bad checks, credit card fraud, identity fraud, fraudulent conversion, public fraud, fraudulent counterfeiting, crimes against estates, and financial crimes against vulnerable individuals. All of these Maryland fraud crimes are white collar crimes, and although they do not involve any physical violence, they all involve the obtainment of services or property of another by deceptive means.
For example, check fraud is a Maryland white collar crime. In Maryland, check fraud, otherwise known as "obtaining property or services by bad check" is defined as obtaining property or services by issuing a check if the person issuing the check knows that there are insufficient funds to cover the check, the person issuing the check intends or believes that the check will be refused upon presentment, and the payment of the check is actually refused. If the value of the property or services fraudulently obtained is valued at more than $500, the penalty for this felony check fraud is a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 15 years, or both. If the value of the property or services fraudulently obtained is valued at less than $500, the penalty for this misdemeanor check fraud is a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment not to exceed 18 months, or both.
Embezzlement in Maryland is considered a white collar crime involving theft. Maryland defines embezzlement as a fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary. The two forms of Maryland embezzlement are (1) embezzlement where a fiduciary willfully and fraudulently appropriates money or something of value that the fiduciary holds in a fiduciary capacity contrary to the requirements of the fiduciary's responsibility, and (2) embezzlement where a fiduciary secretes money or a thing of value held in a fiduciary capacity, with a fraudulent intent to use that money or valuable contrary to the fiduciary's responsibilities. The penalty for the Maryland white collar crime of embezzlement is imprisonment for no less than 1 year and no more than 5 years.
Fraud, embezzlement, and check fraud are only three of many white collar crimes in Maryland. Any person charged with a white collar crime should contact an experienced Maryland white collar criminal attorney.