When asked, most people are hard-pressed to remember hearing about criminal convictions involving white collar crime with a few high-profile exceptions. Unfortunately, this leads many to believe prosecutors do not care about embezzlement, corporate fraud or similar offenses.
When handed these cases, you can be sure prosecutors in Tennessee and at the federal level work hard to convict the defendant. However, these cases can be harder to prosecute, despite efforts by the Department of Justice to fight corporate crime.
Knowing the challenges that prosecutors face may improve your defense against charges involving fraud or other wrongdoing.
Too much potential evidence
In most white collar cases, prosecutors may have mountains of documents and electronic transactions to sort through. A casual review of these materials does not typically yield proof of wrongdoing. Instead, investigators and prosecutors must carefully study each piece of potential evidence and connect it to the defendant.
Sometimes, the prosecution may lack the time and resources for a deep investigation since the case must eventually progress. The defense can exploit this potential weakness.
Trouble proving intent
Many white collar crime cases require the prosecutor to show that the defendant intended to commit a crime or defraud others. That means they must not only find transactional evidence of an offense. They must prove you engaged in the alleged activities on purpose.
Proving intent is usually one of the biggest hurdles the prosecution faces in convicting those accused of white-collar crimes. As such, your defense team may succeed in challenging the intent component.
Prosecutors continue facing challenges getting convictions for white collar offenses, but do not assume they will fail in your case. A wiser approach may be to build your defense around any potential weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. Having experienced legal guidance is key to a strong defense.
