White-Collar Defense Starts Before You Respond.
Records requests, interviews, subpoenas, and digital evidence can shape the case before an arrest. Get legal advice before giving a statement or producing material.
WHITE-COLLAR CRIME DEFENSE
White-Collar Cases Turn on Records, Intent, and Attribution
White-collar and economic-crime cases are often built slowly through financial records, emails, business documents, witness interviews, digital evidence, subpoenas, and competing explanations of intent.
The opportunity to shape the response may begin before an arrest or formal charge.
Attorney Dan Hassinger brings 15 years of legal practice, including corporate general-counsel experience, and 15 years in law enforcement, including years investigating fraud and financial crimes and several years as an undercover detective. That combined background informs his review of business records, financial evidence, communications, authority, investigative methods, and intent.
If an investigator, employer, insurer, bank, regulator, or alleged victim has requested an interview or records, obtain legal advice before volunteering a statement or producing material.
Call (941) 313-2559 to request a consultation.
White-Collar Crimes We Defend
Scheme to Defraud and Organized Fraud
Employee Theft and Embezzlement
Insurance Fraud
Health-Care Fraud
Mortgage and Real-Estate Fraud
Identity Theft
Forgery and Uttering
Money Laundering
Computer and Cybercrime
Investigations, Subpoenas, and Pre-Charge Representation
Intent, Attribution, and Context Matter
Financial records can show transactions without explaining why they occurred, who directed them, what was disclosed, or what the parties understood. A defense review may require reconstructing authority, ownership, access, accounting treatment, business practice, reliance, loss, and the chain connecting a person to a document or digital act.
Records Do Not Explain Intent by Themselves
A transaction can show that money moved without proving why it moved, who directed it, what was disclosed, or whether the person accused acted knowingly. Early review may help preserve context, identify missing records, control communications, and address parallel employment, licensing, regulatory, civil, or forfeiture concerns.
Organized Fraud and Aggregated Loss
Florida’s Communications Fraud Act addresses obtaining property through a charged scheme to defraud. Property allegedly obtained in one scheme may be aggregated. The current grading ranges are below $20,000, from $20,000 to under $50,000, and $50,000 or more.
The defense should examine the alleged scheme, each transaction, ownership, authorization, communications, attribution, actual benefit, valuation, and whether the State can connect the accused to the charged course of conduct.
Evidence We Examine
Bank, credit-card, payroll, accounting, tax, invoice, and corporate records
Contracts, policies, applications, claims, authorizations, and disclosures
Email, text, cloud, device, access-log, and account-attribution evidence
Interviews, recorded statements, subpoenas, warrants, and document demands
Role, authority, knowledge, intent, reliance, benefit, valuation, and claimed loss
Witness incentives, co-defendant statements, preservation, and chain of custody
Investigations, Subpoenas, and Parallel Exposure
Before responding to an interview or records request, the scope, deadline, preservation duties, privilege issues, ownership of records, and risk of parallel use should be evaluated. Do not delete, alter, conceal, transfer, or ask anyone to change records.
Experience Relevant to Economic-Crime Defense
Attorney Dan Hassinger has practiced law for 15 years, including corporate general-counsel experience, and previously served 15 years in law enforcement. His investigative work included years investigating fraud and financial crimes, several years as an undercover detective, interviews, surveillance, court-authorized interception of communications, confidential informants, and evidence development.
That combined background informs a disciplined review of business records, financial evidence, communications, authority, investigative methods, attribution, and intent.
What Happens After You Call
We obtain basic names and facts and complete a conflicts check.
Dan identifies the investigation, charge, agency, deadline, requested interview or production, and immediate risks.
You receive a clear explanation of what is known, what must be preserved, and the next steps.
If representation begins, the scope and fee are confirmed in writing.
White-Collar Defense FAQs
Should I speak with an investigator to clear up a misunderstanding?
Not before obtaining legal advice. An explanation can be incomplete, misunderstood, or compared with records you have not seen. Counsel can first identify the subject matter, evidence, and safest method of response.
What is organized fraud in Florida?
Section 817.034 addresses obtaining property through a charged scheme to defraud. The prosecution must prove the statutory elements and value used to grade the offense. The alleged scheme, intent, transactions, attribution, and aggregation require case-specific review.
Can a business or employment dispute become a criminal case?
It can, but a broken agreement or accounting dispute does not automatically prove criminal intent. Authority, disclosures, ownership, business practice, communications, performance, and the parties’ understanding may be important.
What should I preserve?
Preserve the request or subpoena, contracts, policies, messages, email, statements, invoices, accounting data, access logs, and notes identifying witnesses or record custodians. Do not alter or delete anything.
Can a fraud investigation affect a professional license or civil case?
Potentially. Statements and produced records may have consequences beyond the criminal matter. Related employment, licensing, regulatory, civil, insurance, and forfeiture issues should be identified early.
Request a Confidential White-Collar Case Review
Call (941) 313-2559 or send a brief message using the form below. Please do not include confidential information before a conflicts check.