White Collar Crime Defense in Miami

What these cases have in common is how they are built. They usually start quietly, with records, audits, and subpoenas, long before anyone is arrested. By the time most people find out, the government has been working for a while. That early window is often when a lawyer can do the most.

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. We defend people who are under investigation or who have been charged. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Find Your Charge

Each page below explains the law for that charge. Start with the one that fits your situation.

Overview

• Economic & Financial Crimes: money laundering, structuring, tax, bank and wire fraud, RICO and conspiracy, forfeiture, federal sentencing.
• Fraud & Financial Crimes: the main Florida fraud charges.

Fraud

• Organized Scheme to Defraud
• Health Care Fraud
• Medicare Fraud
• Medicaid Fraud
• Insurance Fraud
• PPP and EIDL Loan Fraud

Money, tax, and payments

• Money Laundering and Structuring
• Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion
• Unlicensed Money Transmitting and Crypto-for-Cash Charges

Investments and markets

• Securities Fraud
• Insider Trading

Business and public corruption

• Trade Secret Theft and Corporate Espionage
• Extortion and Bribery
• Counterfeit Goods
• Unlicensed Contracting
• Unlicensed Practice of a Profession
• Illegal Gambling

Computers

• Cyber Crimes

When it gets serious

• Self-Surrender: if there is a warrant or you expect to be charged.
• Bond & Nebbia Hearings: when the court questions where bond money came from.
• Immigration Consequences: if you are not a U.S. citizen, fraud and tax charges can carry serious immigration risk.

How These Cases Usually Start

Most white collar cases do not start with handcuffs. They start with paper.

• An audit or examination. An IRS audit, a Florida Department of Revenue audit, or a regulator's examination of a business's books can turn up something that gets sent to criminal investigators.
• A subpoena for records. Banks, employers, accountants, and businesses get subpoenas for records. Sometimes you get one yourself; sometimes you never know until later.
• A grand jury subpoena. In federal cases, a grand jury subpoena can ask for documents, testimony, or both.
• A target letter. A letter from federal prosecutors saying you are a target means they consider you a likely defendant.
• An agent at your door. Agents often show up unannounced, polite and friendly, asking to "clear a few things up."
• A search warrant. Agents arrive with a warrant for a home, an office, phones, or computers. By then the investigation is well along.
• A frozen account or seized property. Sometimes the first sign is money that can't be reached.

Each of these is a moment to call a lawyer before you respond. See the Economic Crimes page for more on target letters, grand juries, and search warrants.

Civil, Regulatory, and Criminal Cases Can Run at the Same Time

Many white collar matters have two tracks. A regulator or tax agency may pursue a civil or administrative case while prosecutors pursue a criminal one. Examples include:

• The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), in securities and investment matters.
• The Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), which enforces Florida's securities law and its money services business law. Florida's securities law gives OFR the power to investigate and to issue subpoenas.
• The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), in insurance and related matters.
• The IRS, where a civil audit and a criminal investigation are handled by different parts of the agency.
• The Florida Department of Revenue, in sales tax and other state tax matters.

The danger is that what you say or hand over in the civil case can end up in the criminal one. Your criminal defense has to account for every parallel case from the very start. Our practice is criminal defense: we defend people who are under criminal investigation or who have been charged.

Why Early Counsel Matters

• Before charges, there is room to work. A lawyer can sometimes respond to a target letter or a subpoena in ways that affect whether charges are filed and what they are.
• Statements are permanent. Anything you say to an agent can be used against you. Lying to a federal agent is a separate crime.
• Records can't be undone. Changing, deleting, or "cleaning up" records after you learn about an investigation can create a new and serious charge. Don't touch anything until you've talked to a lawyer.
• Deadlines can be short. Seizures, subpoenas, and frozen accounts can come with deadlines.
• Cooperation is a one-way door. Talking about cooperating, or cooperating, is a decision to make only after a lawyer has reviewed your exposure.

What to Do If Agents Contact You

1. Be polite and don't argue.
2. Don't answer questions. Say you want to speak with a lawyer first, and ask for the agent's card.
3. Don't destroy, change, or move records, emails, texts, or files.
4. Don't call co-workers or others involved to "get stories straight."
5. If agents have a search warrant, don't interfere. Ask for a copy, and stay quiet.
6. Call us. Our office answers 24 hours a day at (305) 209-0384.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

You can read about some of our past cases on our Results page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a white collar crime?

It's a common label, not a legal charge. It usually means a crime involving money, business, or documents rather than violence, such as fraud, tax, securities, bribery, or money laundering charges.

Are white collar cases state or federal?

Either, and sometimes both. Florida has its own fraud, securities, tax, and bribery laws, and federal prosecutors bring many of these cases in the Southern District of Florida.

I haven't been charged. Do I need a lawyer yet?

If you've gotten a subpoena, a target letter, a call from an agent, or a search warrant, yes. The time before charges is often when the most can be done.

Should I talk to the agents to clear things up?

Not without a lawyer. Anything you say can be used against you, and a false statement to a federal agent is its own crime.

There's a civil case and a criminal investigation. Which one matters?

Both. What you say or produce in one can be used in the other, so the criminal defense has to plan for both from day one.

How fast can you help?

Our office answers 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.