Financial Crime & Fraud

Wire fraud is a federal crime in which the perpetrator uses telecommunication to deceive another for their own personal gain. Telecommunication methods include but are not limited to phone calls, faxes, emails, text messages, and social media.

Redlining is the illegal practice of denying financial services to residents of neighborhoods deemed too high risk for investment, regardless of the individual’s creditworthiness. Redlining takes its name from the early 20th-century banking practice of delineating city maps with red lines around “hazardous,” usually majority-minority neighborhoods that were excluded from mortgage lending.

Smurf is a colloquial term for a money launderer who attempts to evade government scrutiny by breaking up one large illegal transaction into many smaller transactions that are under-reporting thresholds. Currently, U.S. banks and financial institutions must notify the government of any cash transaction over $10,000 in a suspicious activity report (SAR).

Embezzlement is a crime in which a person or entity, like a financial advisor or corporate executive, intentionally misappropriates assets entrusted to them. Embezzlement can involve diverting client funds to a personal bank account or spending company money on non-business items, like personal luxuries or investments.

Extortion is the wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or intimidation to attain money or property from an individual or entity. While extortion often involves the threat of bodily harm, it can also be perpetrated through the threat of reputational harm or unfavorable government action.