Fraud & Financial Crimes Defense in Miami

That's why the best time to call a defense lawyer is the moment you suspect you're under investigation, not the day you're charged.

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people accused of crimes since 2012. He knows how fraud cases are built from the inside, and he knows where they crack. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Fraud and Financial Crimes We Defend

We defend people and business owners in state court in Miami-Dade and South Florida and in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, including:

• Insurance fraud — PIP claims, staged accidents, inflated or false claims, and investigations by the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS).
• Health care and Medicare fraud — billing, clinic, pharmacy, durable medical equipment, and home-health cases.
• Organized scheme to defraud — the charge prosecutors use when they claim a pattern of conduct, not a single act.
• Grand theft by fraud — when the State says money or property was obtained by deception.
• Identity theft — fraudulent use of another person's personal information.
• Credit card fraud — use of cards, card numbers, or account data.
• Mortgage and bank fraud — loan applications, straw buyers, and false statements to lenders.
• Money laundering — state and federal.
• Wire fraud and mail fraud — federal charges that can attach to almost any scheme that used a phone, email, internet transfer, or the mail.

How Fraud Cases Get Built

Fraud prosecutions are paper cases. The investigators usually have a head start, and they use it.

Who investigates. Insurance fraud is often worked by DFS fraud investigators and by insurance company special investigation units, sometimes with help from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). Health care cases may involve state and federal agencies. Bank, mortgage, and wire fraud cases can involve federal agents.

What they collect. Bank records. Claim files. Billing data. Phone records. Emails and texts. Surveillance video. Statements from coworkers, patients, or "cooperating" co-defendants who are trying to help themselves.

The recorded interview. In many cases, the most important piece of evidence is the one the accused person hands over: a recorded statement. Investigators are trained to be friendly, to say they "just need your side," and to let you talk. What you say gets compared, line by line, to the documents they already have.

Follow the money. In almost every fraud case, the State or the government traces where money went. That same paper trail is often where the defense finds its best arguments: legitimate business reasons, missing records, numbers that don't add up, or people who had more control than the client did.

What to Do If an Investigator Calls You

If a DFS investigator, detective, insurance investigator, or federal agent contacts you:

1. Be polite. Say little. Get their name, agency, and phone number.
2. Do not give a statement. You can say: I'd like to speak with my lawyer first, and my lawyer will contact you.
3. Do not try to "explain it." Most people who talk believe they can clear things up. Most of the time, they fill in gaps for the prosecution.
4. Do not delete, change, or move anything. No texts, emails, files, or records. That can create a brand-new charge.
5. Do not call the other people involved to "get your stories straight."
6. Call a defense lawyer right away. We can speak with the investigator for you, find out whether you are a witness, a subject, or a target, and protect you from there.

Penalties, Restitution, and Plea Exposure

Fraud penalties in Florida are driven largely by dollar amounts. The bigger the number the State can prove, the higher the degree of the felony. A few examples from the Florida Statutes:

• Organized fraud (scheme to defraud) is a third-degree felony under $20,000, a second-degree felony from $20,000 up to $50,000, and a first-degree felony at $50,000 or more.
• Insurance fraud is a third-degree felony under $20,000, a second-degree felony from $20,000 up to $100,000, and a first-degree felony at $100,000 or more.
• Staging a car crash, or creating paperwork for a crash that never happened, to make injury or PIP claims is a second-degree felony with a minimum of 2 years in prison.
• Identity theft can carry mandatory minimum prison terms of 3, 5, or 10 years as the dollar amount or the number of victims goes up.
• Theft becomes grand theft at $750, and the degree rises at $20,000 and again at $100,000.
• State money laundering rises by degree at $20,000 and at $100,000 in transactions within a 12-month period.

Federal cases are sentenced under a different system, where the loss amount, the number of victims, and a person's role in the scheme can move the numbers a lot.

Restitution matters in almost every fraud case. Judges and prosecutors care about whether money can be paid back, and when. The way restitution is negotiated, and the amount that is actually provable, can change the outcome of the whole case.

Why the number is the battlefield. Prosecutors often start with the biggest loss figure they can claim. Our job is to test that number: what was actually lost, what was legitimate, what was counted twice, and what the State can really prove. Lowering the provable amount can lower the degree of the charge, take a mandatory minimum off the table, or open the door to a resolution without prison.

Why Early Defense Matters

In a fraud case, the decisions made before charges are filed can be the most important ones in the case.

• We can step between you and the investigators so you don't make the State's case for it.
• We can preserve your records and gather the documents that show legitimate business, real services, or good-faith mistakes.
• We can sometimes influence the charging decision — what gets filed, at what level, and against whom.
• We can plan for bond. In fraud cases, prosecutors often ask the judge to make you prove where your bond money came from. That is called a Nebbia hold. Planning for it early can mean the difference between going home and sitting in jail for weeks. See Bond & Nebbia Hearings.
• We can protect your license, career, and immigration status by thinking about consequences beyond the criminal case from day one.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor. Dennis knows how the State reviews, files, and negotiates fraud cases.
• Defending people since 2012.
• State and federal court experience in South Florida.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day.

If you've been contacted by an investigator, received a target letter, or been arrested, call (305) 209-0384 now. Talk to us before you talk to them.

Frequently Asked Questions

An investigator says I'm "just a witness." Should I talk?

Not without a lawyer. People's status can change from witness to target based on what they say. A lawyer can find out where you really stand.

Can I be charged with fraud if I didn't know the claim was false?

Most fraud charges require proof that you acted knowingly and with intent to defraud. What you knew, and what the State can prove you knew, is often the heart of the defense.

If I pay the money back, will the case go away?

Not automatically. Paying back money can help a lot in negotiations, but it should be done through your lawyer, as part of a strategy, so it is not treated as an admission.

What is the difference between state and federal fraud charges?

They are separate court systems with different prosecutors, rules, and sentencing. Federal cases are often bigger and run longer before an arrest. Some conduct can be charged in either system.

Will I go to jail for a first-time fraud charge?

It depends on the charge, the amount, and the facts. Some cases resolve without prison; others carry mandatory minimums. An early, honest assessment of your exposure is the first thing we give you.

How fast can you help?

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