Defense Considerations

Bank fraud is sometimes perpetrated from the inside by a bank employee or manager. This constitutes embezzlement, in which a person entrusted with funds or bank property appropriates it for his or her own use or benefit. A bank employee may borrow funds during a personal emergency and then attempt to replace the missing funds undetected, a move that seldom goes undetected.

Bank fraud is also perpetrated from the outside when investment bankers, entrepreneurs, accountants, attorneys or other professionals are perceived to have defrauded a bank and/or its clients from its funds.

Bank fraud charges are quite serious due to the combination of the severe sentencing guidelines based on the amount of proven financial damages and the dependence on complex financial records for one's defense. Often, the defendant has much less access to the required financial records than the prosecution.

There are many defenses that can be used when facing bank fraud charges. The outcome of your defense depends in large part on the amount of pre-trial research, the defense strategies employed and the motivations of the prosecution. While banks are typically highly motivated to press charges in these cases, they are generally more interested in recovering missing funds. In many cases, it may be possible to reach a financial settlement that can minimize or avoid entirely prison time.

If you are facing potential bank fraud, it is critical that you use a legal defense team with specific experience and expertise dealing with these types of white collar charges. Call us at any time at (800) 459-2500 for a free, confidential initial consultation. Early intervention is critical to obtaining the best results.