Newsletters

CRIMES COMMITTED ABOARD AIRCRAFT

A person is guilty of a federal offense if he or she commits certain crimes aboard an aircraft. Such crimes include murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, maiming, sexual abuse, assault, embezzlement, theft, receiving stolen property, and robbery. These offenses are punishable as federal offenses, even if they are not connected with aircraft piracy or attempted aircraft piracy.

Prosecutions for State Insurance Fraud

Most states have statutes governing the issue of insurance fraud. One may be charged with insurance fraud if: The individual prepared or presented a false or fraudulent written statement; the individual aided, solicited, or conspired in presenting a fraudulent written statement; the individual had the specific intent to defraud the insurer.

Tax Fraud and Corporate Criminal Liability

A corporation may be potentially criminally liable for tax fraud committed by a director, officer, or employee. Basically, the general concept for corporate criminal liability is that a corporation may be found liable for committing criminal offenses when an employee, officer, or director of the corporation commits the criminal offense. Some jurisdictions still apply the common law theory that a corporation cannot be liable for a crime because it is unable to commit a crime in its corporate capacity.

BRIBERY

A person commits the offense of bribery when he or she intentionally or knowingly offers to another person or solicits or accepts from another person any benefit in consideration of his or her decision, vote, or exercise of discretion as a public servant, a political party official, or a voter.

Computer Fraud and Financial Institutions

With the prevalence and necessity of computers, computer fraud in financial institutions appears to be a frequently prosecuted offense. Employees, directors, and agents of financial institutions have access to their customers' information on a daily basis and at their fingertips. It is quite simple, for example, for an employee to delete unfavorable information of a client and add favorable information to the client's file. In the example above, the client may be able to obtain credit approval for certain items that he otherwise would not qualify for.