Fraud
Fraud is considered the deliberate deception and illegal activity committed by companies in order to gain a financial advantage for their business. These schemes are usually committed under the pretense of legitimate business practices.
There are a number of crimes that can fall under corporate fraud and can arise out of many situations. Some of these crimes can include charity fraud, investment scams, and pyramids schemes.
Attorney for Fraud in Miami, FL
Fraud cases are an especially complicated type of litigation, complex business fraud cases are even more convoluted. If you are involved in a complex business fraud case you will need the experienced fraud litigation team from Abrams Justice Trial Attorneys to guide you through the process.
Call Abrams Justice Trial Attorneys today or submit your information in our online contact form and one of our attorneys will review your case for free. We proudly assist clients in the greater Miami-Dade area including Miami, Homestead, Hialeah, Pinecrest, Miami Gardens, Miami Beach, North Miami, Doral, Coral Gables, and Cutler Bay.
Overview of Fraud in Miami, FL
Florida Fraud Laws
According to a 2017 report from the Federal Trade Commission, Florida is the leading state in the U.S for fraud complaints. Because of that, the state has extensive laws regarding the matter.
Generally, fraud involves a party knowingly making a material misrepresentation of fact which a victim relies on and results in damages, usually monetary, to the victim. In Florida, a fraud case will be moved into a Complex Business Litigation section if the amount in controversy is over $750,000 or if the case involves complex issues and a high degree of case management that would be difficult for a normal court to deal with.
The state’s criminal fraud laws are established in Chapter 817 of the Florida Statute and presented to here to illustrate the type of fraud that can give rise to civil liability. A few examples are listed below.
Obtaining Property by Fraudulent Promise to Furnish Inside Information: A person is not allowed to defraud or attempt to defraud any individual by offering to sell that person secrets or inside information.
Obtaining Property by False Personation: Any person who falsely personates or represents another and receives property that was intended for the person personated, with the intent to convert the property for his or her use, shall be punished as if convicted of larceny.
Prohibition of Fraudulent Marketing Practices: It is unlawful for anyone to willfully and knowingly make a false or misleading statement to provide false or misleading information about the identity, product, good, services or geographical location in marketing, advertising materials or other media or website with the intent to induce another person to seek the good or service.
False Entries and Statements by Investment Companies Offering Stock or Security: No person shall knowingly subscribe to, make or cause to be made any false statements, false entry in any investment company book or present false paper with the intention to deceive any person authorized to look into the affairs of any investment company or shall make, publish or utter any false statement of the financial condition of any investment company, stock, bond or other securities offered for sale.
Misleading Advertising Prohibited: It is unlawful for any person to make or cause to be made any misleading advertisements before the general public of the state with the intent of obtaining money or property. Such misleading advertising shall be declared fraudulent and unlawful.
Types of Business Fraud
In the business context, fraud often takes on an added dimension of complex issues and significantly more money. Listed below are types of business fraud cases in Florida.
Fraudulent Misrepresentation: Instances of fraudulent misrepresentation include an individual deliberately making false statements to get another party to enter a contract and the party enters a contract as a result of the false statements and suffers a loss.
Bankruptcy Fraud: There are four forms of bankruptcy fraud. They include concealing assets to avoid forfeiting them, intentionally filing false or incomplete forms, filing multiple times using false information or bribing a court-appointed trustee.
Securities Fraud: Also known as stock or investment fraud, this involves a deceptive sale in the stock market. An example includes making a purchase or sale based on false information that results in losses or violations of securities laws. Securities fraud can also include Ponzi schemes, advance fee fraud and market manipulation fraud.
False Advertising: This is considered the use of false, misleading or unproven facts to advertise a product to consumers. A common form of false advertising includes claiming a product has health benefits or contains minerals and vitamins when in reality it doesn’t.
Work-at-Home Schemes: Work-at-home schemes are becoming more and more common. They lure victims with an offer to work from home doing a simple task in return for large amounts of money that would normally exceed the market rate for the type of work.
Real Estate Fraud: This involves a person using false information to take advantage of another person during the purchase of real estate. The majority of real estate fraud cases also involve morgue fraud.
Tax Fraud: Tax fraud is considered the illegal evasion of taxes. It often includes taxpayers making false claims about the true nature of their business affairs to the IRS. It can also include filing a false return, intentionally failing to file and failing to pay taxes.
Whether you have been a victim of fraud or are having a suit brought against you, you should contact an experienced fraud attorney as soon as possible so they can properly guide you through the process.
Additional Fraud Resources in Miami, FL
Common Fraud Schemes– Follow this link to the view information on common fraud schemes provided by the FBI. Some of the schemes include investment fraud, pyramid schemes and telemarketing fraud. The FBI is the domestic security service of the United States.
FTC Annual Summary of Complaints Reported by Consumers – Follow this link to read an article from the Federal Trade Commission about fraud complaints reported by U.S consumers. The report found that Florida is ranked #1 for fraud complaints, consumers lost $905 million in fraud and that debt collection was the leading case of fraud. The FTC is a bipartisan federal agency with a mission to protect consumers and promote competition.
Lawyer for Fraud in Miami, FL
If you’ve been a victim of fraud or are have been accused of committing business related fraud, you should contact Abrams Justice Trial Attorneys today so one of our experienced attorneys can guide you through the complex process. Abrams Justice Trial Attorneys will strive to protect your rights and achieve the best possible outcome for your situation.
Call us today at (305) 709-0880 or submit your information in our online contact form and one of our attorneys will review your case for free. We server communities in the greater Miami-Dade area that includes Miami, Homestead, Hialeah, Pinecrest, Miami Gardens, Miami Beach, North Miami, Doral, Coral Gables, and Cutler Bay.