Las Vegas Fraud Charges Come In Many Different Forms

Conduct and activities that can lead to charges for Las Vegas fraud crimes cover a wide spectrum.  Potential penalties often include heavy fines, lengthy prison sentences, restitution, and even reimbursement of investigation costs in some cases. 

There is no single criminal charge called “fraud.” Nevada and federal laws both provide for numerous types of fraud charges. Many of the charges fall into the category of white-collar crime.

At The Gersten Law Firm, we defend individuals facing any state or federal charges involving allegations of fraud.  Attorney Joe Gersten aggressively pursues all available defenses to secure the best possible result in every case.  Your initial consultation is always free-of-charge.

What Is Fraud?

All fraud charges have one element in common — the intent to deceive for financial or other gain.  Any fraud crime generally involves a deliberate misrepresentation regarding an important fact.  The crime occurs when the person committing fraud receives money, property, or services as the result of the defrauded person relying on the deception.

Types of Las Vegas Fraud Charges

Fraud occurs in many different situations.  Resulting criminal charges vary, based on the circumstances in which the fraud occurs. 

Federal and Nevada laws cover many of the same fraudulent activities.  Whether a person ends up facing a state or federal criminal charge depends on the specific circumstances of the activity or conduct. 

Commonly encountered Las Vegas fraud crimes include many different types of conduct, such as:

Credit Card Fraud

Las Vegas credit card fraud charges arise in many different ways and involve a number of different specific offenses, both state and federal.  Examples of conduct that leads to criminal charges for credit card fraud include:

• Taking, receiving, possessing, or using a credit card, debit card, or account number that belongs to another person without that person’s consent
• Making false statements in an application for a credit or debit card
• Buying or selling credit cards, debit cards, or account numbers
• Forging, making, or embossing credit cards, debit cards, or account numbers
• Unauthorized signing of a credit or debit card document
• Obtaining money, goods, property, services, or anything else of value through fraudulent use of a credit card, debit card, or account number
• Furnishing goods or services on presentation of a credit card, debit card, or account number known to be illegally obtained or possessed by the user
• Misrepresenting the value of goods or services provided to a card or account user
• Possessing supplies (such as cards) or equipment used to produce illegal credit or debit cards
• Receiving anything of value known to be obtained by unlawful use of a credit or debit card
• Using fake, revoked, or expired credit cards with the intent to defraud

Identity Theft

Identity theft charges often arise in connection with credit card fraud but can occur in other situations as well.  Identity theft involves possessing or using another person’s identification information or documents to commit fraud.

Using any information about another person’s name, birthday, driver’s license, tax identification number, social security number, bank account, credit card, or other private information may result in criminal charges.  Identity theft generally leads to federal criminal charges rather than state charges.

Auto Insurance Fraud

Auto insurance fraud results from intentionally defrauding an insurance company to obtain compensation.  The circumstances leading to car insurance fraud include:

• Intentionally overstating the repair cost of a damaged vehicle
• Falsely claiming that a vehicle was stolen after abandoning it
• Vandalizing or damaging a car and falsely making an accident claim
• Making a false statement in a car insurance application
• Falsely claiming that an accident caused physical injuries (includes physician’s making false medical reports)

Insurance fraud charges can involve other types of policies and claims, in addition to claims relating to vehicles.

Gaming Fraud

Gaming fraud occurs in many different ways including:

• Misrepresenting or altering the outcome of a game
• Obtaining and using information provided by casino employees or hosts
• Changing a bet after it is placed and acknowledged
• Offering something of value in exchange for influencing the outcome of form of gambling
• Manipulating the outcome of a gaming device

Casino marker fraud also constitutes a criminal offense.  The law treats markers like bad checks.  If a casino cannot cash or deposit a marker, criminal fraud charges can result.

Other Kinds of Las Vegas Fraud Charges

Many other types of fraud constitute crimes as well, including:

• Forgery
• Obtaining property or money by false pretenses
• Bank fraud
• Mortgage fraud
• Real estate fraud
• Medicaid fraud
• Unemployment compensation fraud
• Workers’ compensation fraud
• Welfare / food stamp fraud
• Healthcare fraud
• Wire fraud
• Mail fraud
• Securities fraud

Defending Against a Las Vegas Criminal Fraud Charge

An experienced criminal defense attorney uses a number of different strategies in vigorously defending against any fraud charge.  The approach in a specific case varies, depending on the circumstances.

Many fraud charges arise from extensive investigations by state or federal law enforcement agencies, or cooperative efforts among a number of different agencies.  In that case, those agencies collected a substantial amount of evidence. 

Sometimes, the collection of evidence itself may not meet all the legal requirements.  Challenging the validity of a search or seizure of evidence can lead to a court throwing out evidence that is essential to the prosecution’s case against a defendant.  A skillful defense attorney knows how to analyze all the evidence and find vulnerabilities in law enforcement evidence collection procedures.

In any fraud case, the fraudulent intent of the defendant is a critical element for the prosecution to prove.  If the defense attorney demonstrates that the evidence is insufficient to prove the required intent or identifies evidence disproving intent, the prosecution’s case falls apart.

By nature, any fraud charge presents a complex case.  Analyzing the evidence in detail and finding weaknesses in the prosecution’s case is an essential part of asserting an aggressive defense.  An experienced defense attorney also uses those weaknesses to negotiate with the prosecutor, in an effort to get the charges dismissed or at least secure a plea bargain more advantageous to the defendant than a conviction or guilty plea to the charge.

Talk With a Respected Las Vegas Fraud Charge Defense Attorney

Attorney Joseph Gersten has the knowledge and experience to defend against all federal or state fraud charges. He uses his investigative background and analytical skill to evaluate all the evidence and formulate a tough strategy for defending every case. 

The Gersten Law Firm represents clients in Las Vegas and throughout Clark County.  Contact us to schedule your free consultation.