Florida Criminal Defense Blog

Application of fraud laws in Florida can be complicated, and depends on intent in order to prove a criminal case, as is outlined in this lengthy article on contractor fraud cases in the St. Pete Times.

The key in pursuing criminal fraud charges is about the intent of the person or company accused. If they agreed to a contract to perform a job, and had no intention of completing the tasks, then it is a case of fraud.

However, most cases where businesses do not live up to the contractual agreements expected by individuals or other businesses, are at least initially considered to be a bad business decision or practice, or a simple contract dispute.

Clearly this outcome is frustrating to anyone who believes they’ve been scammed. One of the issues is that prosecutors like to win cases, and they prefer simple cases.

In the article, many of these contractor fraud cases have only been pursued as criminal matters due to the victims on research and perseverance investigating and finding previous clear prior evidence of other victims with similar stories.

For a criminal prosecution of consumer fraud, most district attorney’s are going to want to see this clear pattern of intent to defraud. If that isn’t perfectly clear, then these cases are both difficult to prove and complicated to prosecute.

But it cases where a person clearly took money in return for no good or services, the defendant could be facing serious fraud and grand theft charges.

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If you are accused of committing criminal fraud in Florida, please contact us to speak about your case. If you face criminal charges, you need the advice of an experienced Florida criminal defense lawyer. We can offer our advice and a case evaluation of your charges as part of a free consultation, so call today.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is looking to bar anyone convicted of a felony charge in Florida from being able to obtain a mortgage broker license. Currently, the law states that these kinds of restrictions can only be applied where the charge or conviction is directly related to the industry being licensed.

The trend of endless punishment for past crimes here is disturbing. It is already true that any criminal record in Florida can follow you for life, and show up on inexpensive background checks. This means that employers may choose not to hire you, landlords may reject your rental application, or you may be rejected from many different forms of civic involvement, from being a scout leader or coaching a kids soccer team.

And many criminal convictions will automatically disqualify you for jobs in law enforcement, service in the military, many security clearances, and much more.

But now the state wishes to further limit entrepreneurship, or starting your own business with licensing restrictions that have absolutely nothing to do with the work you are doing or business you are trying to start. If you once had a drinking problem, and racked up a few DUI charges, you are a felon, and are not even allowed to sell mortgages?

In an age of widely accessible public records online, the harsh restrictions on past mistakes is more of an issue than ever. Years ago, the impact from a troubled past could be something you could move beyond. But now it follows you forever, and could very well show up on a google search anytime in the future.

If a reconsideration of public records doesn’t happen, there will soon be no such thing as the old idea of “paying your debt to society”.

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If you’ve been charged with a crime in Florida, please contact our attorneys today. We will fight to keep your record clean. Take advantage of our free legal consultation to find out what we can do you help you. There is no obligation.