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California laws that aim to provide specific protections to vulnerable individuals, such as elder and dependent adults and people with disabilities, carry with them legal requirements for reporting suspected or observed abuse. Just like in cases of suspected child abuse, California law also mandates that certain professional individuals report abuse or domestic violence in which…

Some important new juvenile crime reforms go into effect January 1, 2018 as part of a raft of legislation signed into law by Governor Brown this Fall. The reforms benefit youths and their families who find themselves caught up in California’s juvenile justice system. Among the reforms are provisions that expand the sealing of juvenile…

Financial abuse of the elderly in California includes a broad range of crimes from out-and-out theft of money or property, to improper use of assets; from breaching a fiduciary duty to safeguard assets, to coercion or financial exploitation. Orange County’s population of people 65+ will be nearly 25% of all residents in the next 25…

Both California and federal laws put a broad swath of professionals who interact with adults and children into the category of “mandatory reporters” of child abuse or neglect. Failure to report abuse or neglect, even if only suspected, is a crime. Reporting is the legal duty of the individual, and cannot be handed off to…

You’ve surely seen all the news reporting by now about the massive hack of Equifax that stole identity data of nearly half of all people in the U.S.  Criminals got away with particularly sensitive identifying information – names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and some driver’s license numbers. That kind of information allows someone…

Here you are going about your day and suddenly find yourself inside a crime scene, witness to a crime. That can be as scary as being the victim of the crime. You may not be in control of the events around you, but you can play a powerful role in what happens after the fact.…

I have someone’s password. Is it a computer crime to use it? I figured out someone’s password. Is it a crime to log in? It depends. Both California law and federal law guide whether you could find yourself on the wrong side of the answer. Computer crime laws are generally aimed at actions that damage,…

A nationwide action last week by the Department of Justice involved the arrests of more than 400 doctors, nurses, medical professionals and workers for fraudulent billings and other acts of fraud. Some caught up in the sweep are physicians and residents of Orange County. Selling prescriptions for opioids, recruiting addicts for false tests and treatments;…

Tighter regulations are now on the books that limit employers’ use of criminal background information for hiring decisions. The California Fair Employment and Housing Council proposed these new regulations last year. They took effect July 1, 2017, having made their way through the regulatory and public comment process. Under the regulations employers using criminal history…

Credit card ring, a fake attorney, fire victim embezzlement, and food stamp fraud top the list of recent white-collar crimes cases in and around Orange County. Restaurant credit card skimming in Huntington Beach Federal authorities have in custody 12 of 13 suspects in a credit card fraud ring accused of stealing more than 500 credit card…