Bank Fraud Attorney

If you or a loved one has been charged with bank fraud, you should immediately contact the Los Angeles Bank Fraud Attorneys at The H Law Group. H Law Group is home to some of LA’s best attorneys, we serve Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Diego County, and Ventura County, so contact us for a free consultation if bank fraud charges have been filed against you or if you’re being investigated for bank fraud.

WHAT IS BANK FRAUD?

Bank fraud is a serious criminal offense that typically involves using unlawful means to obtain money or property owned or held by a bank or financial institution. Getting charged with bank fraud is life-changing and being convicted for it is even worse. Individuals who are convicted of bank fraud often feel the consequences in their personal lives, as well as their work life. Finding a job becomes much more difficult for an individual who has a bank fraud conviction on his record. So, if you’ve been charged with bank fraud or you’re being investigated for it in the State of California, you should immediately contact the experienced bank fraud attorneys at The H Law Group. They will do their best to fight for you and achieve the best possible outcome for you.

At its core, bank fraud involves devising a scheme to defraud a financial institution of money or property that is own by the financial institution or controlled by it. Bank fraud charges are often accompanied by the following charges:

• Wire Fraud
• Mail Fraud
• Making False Statements
• Forging Checks
• Loan Fraud
• Counterfeiting

PUNISHMENT FOR BANK FRAUD

That said, mail fraud is a federal offense that is often investigated by federal agencies, such as the FBI and is prosecuted in federal court rather than state courts. That said, there are many fraud charges that can be brought in state court. Bank Fraud charges are set out in Section 1344 of the U.S Code. Bank fraud at the federal level can be punished with a maximum prison sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison, as well as the imposition of a fine of up to $1,000,000. In addition to the lengthy prison sentence and hefty prison fine, a bank fraud conviction can seriously hurt your reputation and make it very difficult for you to find a job, so if you’ve been charged with bank fraud, it’s in your best interest to hire an experienced bank fraud attorney to defend you and guide you through the criminal process.

DEFENSES FOR BANK FRAUD

If you’ve been charged with bank fraud, you need to find an experienced bank fraud defense attorney to defend you. If you have a good attorney, he may be able to use the following defense to defend you against your bank fraud charges. Here are some of the defenses your attorney may be able to use:

• Lack of Intent
  
  For the prosecution to prove bank fraud it must show that you had the intent to commit fraud, your attorney may be able to argue that you did not have the intent to commit fraud by producing evidence, if any, to show that you did not intend to commit fraud. For example, if you were taking out a loan from a bank, and you innocently made a mistake on your loan application that caused the bank to approve your loan, your attorney may be able to argue that you made a mistake and therefore did not have the intent to commit bank fraud.
  
  
• Good Faith
  
  If the facts of your case support this argument, your attorney may be able to argue that you acted in good faith, meaning that you acted reasonably believing that your actions were legal at the time you performed them. This is a difficult defense to use, nevertheless, if your attorney is able to use it, he will.
  
  
• Misrepresentation Was Not Material
  
  This is a commonly used defense. If the facts of your case support making this argument, your attorney will argue that even though you made a misrepresentation, the misrepresentation that you made was not material. That is, that the misrepresentation that you made was significant enough to influence the bank to hand over money, property, loans, or assets.
  
  
• Duress
  
  If you were subject to verbal or physical threats, your attorney may be able to argue that you acted under duress and that the charges against you should be dismissed. For example, if someone threatens to harm your family unless you commit bank fraud, your attorney may be able to successfully assert a duress defense.

WIRE FRAUD

Wire fraud is a federal crime that’s used to prosecute anyone who uses wires (telephone lines, internet, or electronic communication device) to commit fraud. Wire fraud charges are often brought alongside bank fraud charges because defendants often use the internet and communicate via telephone when committing fraud. So, if you find yourself charged wire fraud, allow our fraud attorneys to defend the bank fraud charges and wire fraud charges against you.

MAIL FRAUD

Mail fraud is one of the most charged federal crimes. Mail fraud charges are typically brought against individuals who use U.S Mail to commit fraud. For example, if you were trying to defraud an individual and as part of the fraud, you received mail through USPS, you can be charged for mail fraud in addition to any bank fraud charges. You do not have to be successful in committing fraud to be convicted of mail fraud, simple using U.S mail to commit fraud is sufficient for the prosecution to convict you of mail fraud.

COUNTERFEITING

Counterfeiting is a charge that can be brought alongside bank fraud charges. For the prosecution to convict an individual of counterfeiting, it must show that the individual counterfeited or forged a document while attempting or committing fraud. Most of the cases that are prosecuted involve forging a driver’s license, birth certificates, or other documents in order to commit fraud. So, if as part of your scheme to defraud a bank or financial institution, you forge an identity document, such as a driver’s license, you might be charged with counterfeiting in addition to bank fraud. If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, please contact the best fraud attorneys at The H Law Group.

CALIFORNIA FRAUD CRIMES

Here are some of the most often charged Fraud Crimes that are prosecuted by the State of California:

• Forgery
• False Documents
• Insurance Fraud
• Welfare Fraud
• Embezzlement
• Tax Fraud
• Check Fraud

LOS ANGELES BANK FRAUD LAWYER

If you or a loved has been charged with bank fraud in Los Angeles, CA or any of its surrounding areas, you should immediately contact Los Angeles Bank Fraud Lawyers at The H Law Group. We have experience defending those who have been charged with fraud, we will do our best to ensure that we achieve the best possible outcome in your case. Although we will try to dismiss your case outright, if the facts of your case are not in your favor, we will do our best to persuade the prosecution to reduce the bank fraud charges against you.

‍