If you have been charged with a White Collar Crime in Southern Utah, you are not alone. Many people in St. George, Cedar City, and throughout the entire state are charged with fraud related crimes each year. The most notable recent case in Southern Utah is probably that involving IWorks and Jeremy Johnson. To date, the Johnson case is still pending and we are a firm believer in innocence until proven guilty, we are interested to see how his case plays out and if a jury will end up making the decision or if a settlement will be reached. White collar crime can be business related such as when a business purposefully deceived customers and essentially steals from them. The FTC in the Jeremy Johnson case has essentially alleged Mr. Johnson participated in fraudulent business activates in which customers believed they were purchasing online educational products at no cost or at minimal costs but were actually being billed on a monthly basis. The industry uses the term “negative option billing” to describe this type of transaction. Many companies in the affiliate marketing space were using negative billing as feature for several years, some still are. To our knowledge, IWorks is the most high profile case filed in this industry.
Increasing Regulations
The truth is that all industries in the United States are heavily regulated and the it just keeps getting worse. Many businesses may not even be aware of the many federal and state regulations they may be violating in the way they are selling or marketing their products/services. The FTC and SEC carry a big stick and state agencies like DOPL can not only put you out of business, they can see to it you have charges filed against you in the criminal courts. Recently you may have heard stories of hair braiders being charged for operating without a license or kids being closed down for operating snow cone shack on the corner of their block without the appropriate city licenses. It seems the government is intent on shutting down business and creating a system of fear.
St. George Fraud Defense Attorney
A fraud related charge can carry substantial penalties so anyone finding them self in a position in which white collar crimes or fraud allegations are being made against you, should speak to a St. George Fraud Defense Attorney as soon as possible. At our law firm, we have represented numerous individuals in cases involving fraud and related charges. You do not have to sit idly by and just hope for the best. Take a proactive approach to your defense and speak with a Southern Utah Criminal Defense Lawyer at our office today. We know that good people just trying to make a living sometimes find themselves facing a charge when they had no idea anything they were doing could be interpreted as criminal. We can help, call 435.215.1101.
