White Collar Crime Defense


Often considered a federal crime, white collar crimes carry serious penalties for those convicted, including hefty fines and prison time.  If you find yourself under investigation for a white collar crime or have been arrested, contact a Columbus white crimes defense lawyer immediately.  Time is of the essence in these types of cases, as they are normally extensively investigated by law enforcement and will have considerable documentation to support their charges.

The Law Office of James D. Owen, LLC has over 25 years of experience in successfully representing clients throughout the community.  Our highly skilled attorney provides our clients with the aggressive legal representation they need.  Contact a Columbus criminal attorney today for a free initial consultation to discuss your case and plan a legal strategy to protect your rights.

Types of White Collar Crimes

The term “white-collar crime” refers to crimes committed in a corporate, financial, or business-related setting.   The term was first coined by sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939, who defined it as “criminal activity committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.”  The targets of white-collar criminal investigations often include business owners, directors, managers, executives, board members or even government officials.

White-collar charges we see and defend in Columbus and across Ohio include:

  1. Fraud charges, such as mail, wire, securities, mortgage, insurance, bank, and internet fraud against individuals and corporate, financial, or other business institutions;
  2. Medicaid, Medicare, Worker’s Compensation other fraud against governmental agencies, and public corruption charges against state and local governmental officials and employees;
  3. ERISA reporting and transactional violations;
  4. Money laundering;
  5. Tax charges, including tax fraud, tax evasion, and the willful failure to file tax returns;
  6. Theft of computer code, trademark violations, and copyright infringement;
  7. Securities violations and alleged Ponzi schemes against private and financial investors;
  8. Insider trading;
  9. Check, bond, and currency violations;
  10. Environmental and health and safety law violations;
  11. Identity theft and forgery crimes

White collar charges are prosecuted in Columbus in both state and federal court.  In recent years, however, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio (with offices based here in Columbus, Ohio), has focused more resources investigating and prosecuting economic and white collar crime.

A large number of those cases are prosecuted here in Columbus in The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.

Find a Columbus White Collar Crime Lawyer

Defending against allegations of white collar crime usually involves assembling, reviewing, and analyzing a large volume of banking, bookkeeping, accounting, and other types of business records and financial evidence.

This experience gives him a keen insight about how to best defend against allegations of white-collar crime In Columbus, Ohio.

If you are the subject of a white collar criminal investigation, or have been charged with any white collar crime in Columbus or elsewhere in Ohio, please call attorney James D. Owen at 614.547.5757 for a free initial consultation.