A Beverly Hills white collar crime lawyer at Hurwitz Law Group can step in before investigators finish building a fraud case against you. Maybe an audit flagged missing funds, a subpoena reached your office, or a detective left a voicemail asking for a quick conversation. Each of those moments puts your career, your savings, and your freedom on the line.
You do not have to face that pressure alone or explain yourself to people gathering evidence against you. We move quickly to protect your rights, challenge the prosecution's numbers, and test every claim that you meant to defraud anyone. Call Hurwitz Law Group at (323) 244-4147 for a free case evaluation before you answer questions or sign anything.
White-collar cases are built on paper, so our defense starts with the records. We obtain the bank statements, emails, contracts, and accounting files the prosecution relies on, then look for the gaps its summary skips. Investigators often present a clean story; the documents rarely are.
Our team can step in at any stage, including the following:
Our attorney has more than 10 years of criminal defense experience and serves as an elected member of the Criminal Courts Bar Association's Board of Directors. Recognition includes Super Lawyers Rising Star honors, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating. Clients have left our firm more than 100 five-star reviews.
From our Los Angeles office on Sunset Boulevard, our Beverly Hills criminal defense practice represents residents, employees, and business owners facing charges tied to the city. White-collar matters get the same aggressive, hands-on attention as every other case we take.
If you think you are under investigation, take a few protective steps right away. Do not delete files, contact the person who reported the loss, or sign a written statement your employer prepares. Bring those documents to us instead, and let our team decide what should be shared and when.
California has no single statute called white-collar crime. The label covers nonviolent offenses built on deception, forged documents, or the misuse of money someone trusted you to handle.
Many of these cases do not start with an arrest. A business partner, employer, bank, or insurer notices a problem, builds an internal file, and hands it to law enforcement. By the time police contact you, the other side may have spent months shaping the story.
Prosecutors often charge several of these offenses together, and one transaction can support more than one count. A white-collar crime defense lawyer in Beverly Hills must understand how those statutes overlap and where each one falls short. Our Los Angeles white collar crime defense work covers the full range of financial charges filed across the county.
We defend people facing the following charges, among others:
The agency behind your case shapes the rules, the court, and the potential sentence. A local fraud complaint may begin with a report to the Beverly Hills Police Department, which can refer the case to prosecutors for a charging decision.
Investigators may request records from banks and businesses, interview coworkers, and review emails before ever contacting you. A request for a casual conversation is often a chance to lock in your statements, so talk to our team before you agree to meet.
State felony charges come from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, which reports that its fraud and corruption units include specially trained prosecutors and investigators. Those cases are heard in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Some cases move to federal court instead. Beverly Hills sits in Los Angeles County, one of the seven counties in the Central District of California. The U.S. Attorney's Office there runs a Major Frauds Section that prosecutes corporate embezzlement, securities fraud, Ponzi schemes, Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud, mortgage fraud, and tax evasion.
Federal prosecutions follow different procedures and sentencing rules than state cases. We review how the money moved and who reported the loss to assess early whether the matter could draw federal fraud charges.
Penalties depend on the offense, the amount involved, and your record. The dollar figure often matters most because California ties several thresholds and enhancements to the alleged loss amount. Prior convictions, the number of counts, and any enhancement allegations can further raise the stakes.
Under Penal Code section 487, taking money, labor, or property worth more than $950 is grand theft. Penal Code section 489 generally punishes grand theft by up to 1 year in county jail or by a felony sentence under subdivision (h) of section 1170.
Identity theft carries the same choice of county jail or a felony sentence, along with a possible fine. Because false pretenses theft is punished like larceny, the value obtained also drives the exposure in those cases.
Section 186.10 applies to transactions totaling more than $5,000 within 7 days, or more than $25,000 within 30 days. A conviction can bring up to 1 year in county jail or a felony sentence. The fine can reach $250,000 or twice the property's value, whichever is greater.
When the court imposes a felony sentence, and the value is admitted or found true, it must add time based on the following ranges:
Penal Code section 186.11 targets two or more related felonies in which fraud or embezzlement is a material element. When the loss exceeds $500,000, the enhancement adds 2, 3, or 5 years in state prison.
A loss over $100,000 but not over $500,000 carries a shorter added term tied to California's general loss enhancement. For losses over $500,000, the fine can reach $500,000 or double the value taken, whichever is greater.
The sentence is only part of the exposure. Penal Code section 1202.4 requires the court to order full restitution whenever someone suffered an economic loss from the defendant's conduct, subject to limited exceptions.
Restitution orders can follow you long after any jail term ends. A theft or fraud conviction can also surface on background checks for jobs, housing, and lending.
For licensed professionals, business owners, and anyone who manages other people's money, a fraud-based conviction can trigger licensing board review. It can also end client relationships and close doors to future roles that involve financial trust.
A criminal case can also run alongside a civil lawsuit from the business or insurer that reported the loss. Anything you say in one case can surface in the other, so we build your defense with that risk in mind.
The prosecution must prove every element, including your intent. Our defense targets the weakest parts of the case, which often include the following:
We also look for problems with how statements were obtained and how documents were authenticated. When a cooperating witness or former business partner points the finger, we examine what that person stands to gain.
Where the evidence supports it, we may also pursue a negotiated resolution that reduces the charges, addresses restitution, or avoids an enhancement. You decide whether to accept any offer after we explain the tradeoffs.
For felony offenses with fraud or breach of a fiduciary obligation as a material element, Penal Code section 801.5 sets a 4-year deadline. That period runs from discovery of the offense or its completion, whichever is later.
Sometimes. Grand theft and identity theft can be punished as either a misdemeanor (up to 1 year in county jail) or a felony, making each a wobbler. We push for misdemeanor treatment when the facts and your record support it.
It is harder. Penal Code section 1203.045 bars probation for a theft conviction involving more than $100,000, except in unusual cases where justice favors it. Challenging the loss amount can determine whether that limit applies.
When prosecutors allege the aggravated white-collar enhancement, they can. Subdivision (e) of section 186.11 lets them ask the court for orders preserving property, including an injunction barring anyone from transferring, encumbering, or disposing of it. We can contest overly broad orders that reach property unconnected to the alleged scheme.
Those orders can tie up bank accounts, real estate, and business assets, so we need to respond quickly.
Yes, in several ways. Money laundering thresholds count transactions across 7-day and 30-day windows, and the added prison terms can combine values from charged violations that share a common scheme or plan. The aggravated enhancement also depends on related felonies, so we examine whether each transaction truly belongs together.
No, a report or audit is only an allegation. For the money laundering add-on, for example, section 186.10 requires the value to be charged and then admitted by you or found true by the judge or jury. We test every figure against the underlying records.
Fraud investigations can move quietly for months, then accelerate with a search, a subpoena, or an arrest. The decisions you make before charges are filed can shape everything that follows. Do not wait for a formal charge to get help.
Brian Hurwitz and our team at Hurwitz Law Group answer calls 24/7, and we offer payment plans. We will review what investigators have, explain your options, and start building your defense right away.
For a free case evaluation with a Beverly Hills white collar crime lawyer, call Hurwitz Law Group at (323) 244-4147 or contact our Los Angeles office.
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