Fraud is not a single charge but a family of them, and each can be filed as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the amount involved and your record. The cases I see most often include:
Criminal Defense Attorney in South Pasadena, CA
Fraud allegations often grow out of business deals, financial trouble, or paperwork that prosecutors read in the worst possible light. These cases are document-heavy and intent-driven, and that is exactly where a careful, personal defense makes the difference.
Fraud is not a single charge but a family of them, and each can be filed as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the amount involved and your record. The cases I see most often include:
Every fraud charge requires proof that you intended to deceive someone, and that is often the weakest part of the prosecution's case. A failed business deal, a misunderstanding, sloppy bookkeeping, or a debt you couldn't pay is not fraud, and I make the prosecution prove the difference.
These cases are won in the documents. I personally review the records, the transactions, and the communications behind the charge, because the paper trail that looks damning in a police report often tells a different story when someone actually reads all of it.
Fraud is treated as a crime of dishonesty, which makes the fallout especially heavy:
Even where the evidence is strong, there are options. Repaying the loss, negotiating restitution, and pursuing diversion or alternative resolutions can keep a conviction off your record. Where the evidence is weak, I fight it, from the first motion through trial.