I saw another article today commenting that the FBI and federal prosecutors are increasingly focusing on corporate fraud and mortgage fraud crimes, which are commonly referred to as white collar crimes. This is a reaction to the difficult economic times in general, and specifically, the alarming number of foreclosures, bankruptcies and investors who have lost money they thought was safely invested. According to the article, the FBI has indicated that they currently have 538 active corporate fraud investigations and more than 1,800 active mortgage fraud investigations. Clearly, the focus of the FBI and federal prosecutors has shifted away from immigration-related issues (which was popular after 9/11) and moved towards white collar crime related to the current economic turmoil.
As criminal defense attorneys who handle state and federal criminal cases including white collar cases, we try to monitor the direction and focus of state and federal prosecutors in the Jacksonville, Florida area and throughout Florida. We think this is an important part of advising and representing clients. Contrary to what some people might assume, police, the FBI and other law enforcement authorities are influenced by current events, the media and trends and shift their focus and resources accordingly. As a result, it is instructive for criminal defense lawyers to follow the same trends and corresponding reports of active criminal investigations an cases to determine upon which companies, individuals and issues the federal government is focusing now and will be in the future.