You can face fraud charges under California law every time you engage in an act, which leads to undeserved benefit to yourself, causing loss to another person. Most perpetrators of fraud crimes are driven by two motives: a desire to escape criminal liability and a desire to achieve financial gain. Fraud crimes are often known as white-collar offenses because their perpetrators are professionals, mainly in the finance sector. Fraud crime charges could result in jail time and payment of hefty fines. If you commit fraud and need a reliable Santa Ana criminal defense attorney, you can count on the California Criminal Lawyer Group for dedicated legal representation.

Common Types of Fraud Crimes in California

Fraud crimes fall under several categories with specific penalties. Certain fraud crimes are prosecuted under California theft laws, perjury law, or forgery law. Most fraud offenses are wobblers, meaning the prosecutor has the discretion to prosecute them as felonies or misdemeanors. In deciding whether to charge a fraud crime as a felony or misdemeanor, the prosecutor considers the case’s facts and the defendant’s criminal history.

Certain fraud crimes are automatic felonies under California law. The majority of fraud crimes subject the defendants to adverse immigration consequences because they are considered crimes of moral turpitude. Fraud crime convictions often lead to suspension of professional licenses. The government may also seize any property or money involved in the fraudulent activity. The leading fraud crimes under California law are:

  1. Insurance fraud

You can face insurance fraud charges if you try to obtain insurance payments or benefits that you do not qualify for. The typical insurance fraud crimes are:

Automobile Insurance Fraud

You can commit automobile insurance fraud if you knowingly or intentionally make a false insurance claim or deceive any insurance company into accessing benefits to which you are not entitled. In addition, you can commit auto insurance fraud if you:

  • Damage, abandon, or hide your vehicle with the intent of collecting car insurance proceeds from it.
  • Intentionally present two or more insurance claims for the same loss
  • Participate in or cause an automobile accident on purpose to enable you to access auto insurance proceeds
  • Consciously prepare and present an oral or written statement containing false or misleading information as part of your insurance claim
  • An employee or business owner may commit insurance fraud if they refer, solicit, or accept business from a person despite knowing that the person intends to commit insurance fraud
  • An employee or owner of a vehicle repair shop may also commit fraud if they give insurance adjusters or agents a commission or other financial kickbacks to refer policyholders to their shop.

The punishment for this fraud will vary depending on the form of fraud that you commit. The typical consequences are probation, jail time, and fines.

Healthcare Insurance Fraud

Healthcare insurance fraud is also known as health insurance fraud, medical insurance billing fraud, Medicare fraud, or HMO fraud. The systems that process healthcare payments are often complicated, which opens up opportunities for fraud. In America, most healthcare bills are paid for by another entity like a government medical insurance or a private medical insurance company but not the patient.

The government and insurance companies are very aggressive in prosecuting medical insurance fraud. Therefore, the authorities often accuse innocent people of committing healthcare fraud and charge them for making honest mistakes. A significant percentage of healthcare fraud involves government programs like Medicare and Medi-Cal. Therefore, people who commit healthcare fraud appear as if they are ripping off taxpayers. You can face healthcare fraud charges if you commit any of the following activities:

  • Billing Medical procedures or services that the patient did not receive
  • Billing more costly services than what the patient received
  • Submitting duplicate medical claims for the same medical procedure

The typical perpetrators of healthcare fraud are medical professionals like doctors, nurses, therapists, and other medical practitioners. However, other people who work in hospitals and medical offices can commit healthcare fraud, including record clerks and medical secretaries. The California PC 550(a) makes it a crime to commit any form of medical billing and healthcare fraud.

Medical fraud is a misdemeanor crime if the fraudulent crime is not worth more than $950. For a misdemeanor offense, the penalties include a jail time not exceeding six months and a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both. If the medical claim involved is more than $950, the crime becomes a wobbler, chargeable as a felony or misdemeanor. If charged as a felony, the punishment for medical fraud include a fine of not more than $50,000 or double the amount of fraud and a jail time of two, three, or five years in county jail.

Unemployment Insurance Fraud

You may face unemployment insurance fraud charges if you give false or incomplete information to enable you to access unemployment benefits to which you are not entitled. A company may also commit unemployment insurance fraud if they supply incorrect information to deny its current or former workers employment benefits to which they are entitled.

A person must meet the following requirements to qualify for unemployment insurance:

  • The applicant must be unemployed.
  • Must have worked in the last 18 months
  • Must be looking for employment
  • Must be ready and physically capable to work

Unemployment benefits are mainly available to people who have lost their job through no fault of their own. However, under certain circumstances, the law may allow a person who was fired or quit employment to receive the employment benefits. Thus, the eligibility for unemployment benefits varies on a case-to-case basis. The common forms of unemployment insurance fraud are:

  • Working while still collecting unemployment benefits
  • Collecting other forms of benefits like workers’ compensation benefits and pension without informing the Employment Development Department (EDD)
  • Using a false social security number, name, or employment information to enable you to continue working as you receive unemployment benefits
  • Living in one state and trying to access unemployment benefits in another state
  • Cashing another person’s unemployment check without permission or authority to do so
  • Fabricating your work search efforts and stating that you are actively looking for employment yet you are not
  • Giving a false reason as to why you no longer work

Unemployment insurance fraud may attract charges under:

  • Unemployment Insurance Code 2101
  • Penal Code 550

Under Unemployment Insurance Code 2101, a misdemeanor conviction will lead to a jail time of up to one year in county jail and a fine not exceeding $20,000. If convicted as a felony, the penalties will include imprisonment in a State Prison in California for 16 months, two years, or three years. For a conviction under PC 550, a misdemeanor charge will apply if the value of the alleged fraud is $950 or less. In this case, a conviction will subject you to a jail time of up to six months and a fine not exceeding $1,000.

The crime becomes a wobbler if the value of fraud exceeds $950. If charged as a misdemeanor and fraud value exceeds $950, the jail time increases to one year, and the fine increases to a maximum of $10,000. If the prosecutors charge the crime as a felony, the penalties will include:

  • A jail time of two, three, or five years
  • A fine not exceeding $50,000 or double the fraud amount, whichever is greater

Other forms of insurance fraud under California law are:

  • Welfare fraud
  • Workers’ compensation fraud

 

  1. Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud

You may face real estate fraud charges if you commit fraud in connection with the sale, purchase, financing, or rental of real estate property. You can commit real estate fraud at different stages of a real estate transaction, including:

  • Appraisal stage
  • Closing
  • Foreclosure stage

The typical forms of real estate fraud are:

  • Foreclosure fraud
  • Illegal property flipping
  • Straw buyer schemes
  • Predatory lending

There are several ways of committing foreclosure fraud, including bait and switch, title transfer schemes, and phantom help schemes.

In a bait and switch fraud, the homeowner signs an agreement without knowing that they are transferring the homeownership. For instance, a homeowner could be made to believe that they are signing documents to acquire a new loan, yet they are transferring their homeownership.

In a phantom help scam, a foreclosure assistance company promises to help a homeowner avoid foreclosure and even accepts payment for it but fails to deliver the promised service.

In a straw buyer scheme, a person purchases a house on behalf of another person because the actual buyer cannot complete the transaction, usually because they do not qualify. For instance, the actual buyer may have a negative credit rating. Using a straw buyer or purchaser is considered illegal if the transaction defrauds another person. Using a straw purchaser is also illegal if it is unlawful for the actual buyer to buy the property.

Perpetrators of mortgage and real estate fraud also engage in property flipping. Illegal property flipping involves inflating a property value due to a fraudulent property appraisal. An unsuspecting buyer then purchases the overpriced property. Next, the bank lends money on the property, which is more than the property value. It is essential to note that this flipping is not the same as legal flipping, where a person buys property, fixes it, and sells it at a higher price.

Another common way of committing mortgage and real estate fraud is through predatory lending. Predatory lending occurs when a mortgage broker creates a loan for a property buyer but includes many unnecessary fees that do not benefit the buyer. The motive of the broker doing this is to increase their commissions. There are several laws under which people who commit real estate and mortgage fraud are prosecuted:

  • California PC 487 – Grand theft
  • Civil Code 2945.4 – Foreclosure fraud
  • Civil Code 890 – Rent skimming
  • Penal Code 115 – Filing forged documents

 

  1. Financial Fraud

There are several types of financial fraud under California law. The prevalent forms of financial fraud include:

  • Check fraud
  • Credit card fraud
  • Securities fraud

According to California law, writing, making, or passing a fraudulent or fake check is a crime. The prosecutor will have to prove several elements to accuse you of this fraud:

  • It should be evident that you possessed, passed, wrote, used, or made a fake or fictitious check to pay for property or money.
  • It should also be evident that you knew that the check-in question was altered or fake.
  • When you performed your actions, you had the intent to defraud another person.

If you face charges for possessing a fake check, the prosecutor should prove that you intended to pass the check as genuine when you possessed it. A fake or fictitious check includes a check that is drawn from a bank that does not exist. The possession of a fake or fictitious check is a felony offense. If charged as a misdemeanor, the penalties include:

  • A jail time of up to one year in a county jail
  • A fine that does not exceed $1,000

If the offense is a felony, the penalties will include:

  • A jail time of up to three years in a county jail
  • A fine that does not exceed $10,000

When facing check fraud charges, you can use several defenses to fight the charge:

  • You can point out that you did not have an intent to defraud
  • You can state that you did not know that the check was bad or fake

The following penal code sections make it a crime for a person to commit credit card, debit card, or access card fraud:

  • PC 484e — This applies to stolen credit cards
  • PC 484f — This applies to forged credit card information
  • PC 484g — This applies to using a credit card fraudulently
  • PC 484h — This involves the commission of credit card fraud by a retailer
  • PC 484i — Involves counterfeiting credit cards
  • PC 484j — Revolves around illegal publishing of credit card information

The penalties of credit card fraud will vary depending on the specific crime you commit as follows:

  • The violation of PC 484e is a wobbler offense usually prosecuted as a form of grand theft
  • The breach of PC 484f is also a wobbler offense, usually charged under California forgery law
  • The infringement of PC 484g is prosecuted as grand theft or petty theft
  • The violation of PC 484h is also prosecuted as petty theft or grand theft
  • The breach of PC 484i is a wobbler offense chargeable as a felony or misdemeanor
  • The violation of PC 484j is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a jail time of not more than six months

A credit card fraud conviction could have negative immigration consequences, leading to deportation if you are a non-U.S citizen. A conviction of credit card fraud could also make you inadmissible into the United States.

Securities fraud is also a common type of financial fraud. Several actions could lead to securities fraud charges, including:

  • Selling unqualified securities
  • Selling securities that are not in line with qualification terms
  • Engaging in misleading behavior during purchase or sale of securities
  • Issuing false or misleading statements during insider trading

Securities fraud is a wobbler offense charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. Violation of California security fraud laws could lead to hefty fines and imprisonment. Selling securities without complying with the qualification requirement could lead to a fine of up to one million dollars and a jail time of 16 months, two years, or three years jail.

If the defendant engages in market manipulation or issues false or misleading statements, it could lead to a fine of up to ten million dollars and a jail time of 2, 3, or 5 years in county jail. In addition, securities fraud is not just a state offense but also a federal offense. Therefore, you may also face federal charges alongside state charges.

Federal penalties resulting from securities fraud are often harsher than those imposed by the state. Because you could face both state and federal charges, it is essential to have an experienced attorney when you learn that you are under investigation for securities fraud.

  1. Forgery And Identity Theft

Forging any type of document is a fraudulent crime. Most forgery offenses violate California forgery laws and identity theft laws because they often have something to do with someone's identification. The most common types of frauds that fall under forgery and identity theft are:

  • Possessing, forging, or counterfeiting a public seal
  • Forging or counterfeiting an identity card or driver’s license
  • False impersonation
  • Internet fraud

The crime of forging, possessing, or counterfeiting a public seal is not limited to California seals. You could face charges for this offense if you forge, counterfeit, or possess any seal, whether the seal belongs to the government, corporation, or government agency.

You may forge or counterfeit a public seal or a document that accords you another person's identity. In this case, you will face identity theft charges. You will also violate identity theft charges if you forge or counterfeit a driver's license or identity card and assign yourself another name. You will face fraud charges if you alter your government-issued license or identity card in any way.

If you pose as another person to harm another individual or secure a benefit for yourself, you violate California's false impersonation law. This is also a form of violation of the California identity theft laws. Common examples of false impersonation include:

  • Signing another individual’s name on a check and trying to cash the check as if you are that person.

You can also face false impersonation charges if you use another person's name to access welfare benefits. In most cases, false personation takes place through the internet. For example, it is common for people to use other people's credit cards to make online purchases. It is also common for people to hack into other people's social networking profiles or pose as another person in online chat rooms.

California internet fraud charges will apply if you engage in any fraudulent activity that takes place on the computer like an online store, chat room, or email. The common forms of internet fraud are:

  • Illegal or fraudulent purchases online.
  • Forwarding or creating a computer virus
  • Violation of California's cyberstalking laws

 

  1. Fraud Offenses That Involve Elders

There are several fraud offenses under California law that deal explicitly with elders. The offenses are:

  • California senior fraud
  • California nursing home fraud

If you physically, emotionally, or financially abuse a person above 65 years, this conduct will attract elder abuse charges. In addition, when abuse against an elder is financial, it qualifies as senior fraud under California law. The common forms of financial abuse against an elder include:

  • Credit repair schemes
  • Telemarketing schemes
  • Funeral and cemetery fraud
  • Home repair schemes
  • Real estate predatory lending

Nursing home abuse, just like elder abuse, can be emotional, physical, or financial. If the abuse is financial, it qualifies as nursing home fraud. Nursing home fraud includes actions like:

  • Overbilling for care
  • Forging an elder’s name on a check
  • When an employee of a nursing home convinces one of the elders to sign over their property to them

 

  1. Miscellaneous Fraud Offenses

Some additional miscellaneous fraud offenses are prosecuted under California law. The crimes include:

  • Mail fraud
  • Handicapped parking fraud
  • Fraudulent vehicle registration stickers
  • Gambling fraud
  • Telemarketing fraud

Any fraudulent activity that utilizes the postal system during its commission qualifies as mail fraud. You can commit mail fraud in the following ways:

  • Using the post or mail to market your fraudulent services
  • Sending a forged check through the mail
  • Failure to deliver a product that was ordered via mail on purpose

You may face California's handicapped parking fraud charges if you misuse or lend another person a handicapped parking placard. It is an offense to use another person's placard to park when you are not disabled and are not in the company of the placard owner.

It is also a fraudulent crime to lend your placard to a person who is not entitled to such a placard. It is illegal to display a forged, fake, or expired placard.

You may face charges for using fraudulent vehicle registration stickers if you interfere with the registration stickers, license plates, registration cards. In addition, depending on how you interfere with the stickers, you could also face charges for violating, forging, and counterfeiting or fraudulent possession of a fraudulent seal.

Gambling fraud charges apply if you obtain another person’s money or property through tricks, card games, or scams. Telemarketing fraud involves using fraudulent or deceitful business schemes to sell something.

Find A Santa Ana Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

California law has detrimental penalties for fraud crimes. The specific penalties will depend on the fraud crime you commit. You should contact an attorney immediately after you learn you are being investigated for a fraud crime in Santa Ana. Contact California Criminal Lawyer Group for reliable and aggressive defense. Call us at 714-844-4151 and speak to one of our attorneys.