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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…

A Connecticut man has been arrested for the murder of his wife. He tells one story about how his wife died. His wife’s Fitbit seemingly tells a different story. A mid-morning 911 call last December brought police to the home of Connie and Richard Dabate. Police arrived to find Connie dead in the basement from…

After agreeing to a court offer, former financial services manager for the city of Placentia, Michael Ming Nguyen, was sentenced this month to 25 years in prison, $10 million in fines and $2.6 million in restitution for embezzling more than $5 million from city coffers. Nguyen was originally facing 105 felony counts and nearly 98…

My practice specializes in defending white-collar crime and business crime. I often hear the terms “white-collar crime” and “corporate crime” being confused because the type of criminal activity most common in each like embezzlement, fraud, money laundering or bribery are the same kind of crime. The big difference is 1) who benefits from the crime…

Because of the close relationships involved, victims of domestic violence or abuse are given special protections under California’s domestic violence laws. There is not one domestic violence law in California. In fact there are a number of laws each dealing with specific circumstances, like corporal injury to a spouse, child abuse, date violence and injury to a…

The voters of California overwhelmingly passed the Parole for Non-Violent Criminals and Juvenile Court Trial Requirements Initiative, better known as Proposition 57, last November.   The measure aims at reducing the number of offenders held in prison after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California’s prisons were overcrowded and ordered the state to lower its prison…