A recent story about an Illinois woman’s arrest in Hawaii for using a fake vaccine card went viral across media outlets and social media platforms. While some readers of the story found certain details of the case humorous, the charges she is facing and the potential penalties if she is convicted are anything but.

Counterfeit COVID-19 Vaccine Card

According to details released by the Honolulu Police Department, the Oak Lawn, IL woman arrived in Hawaii on August 23. Hawaii has a mandatory 10-day quarantine for all visitors to the state, unless the visitor can provide proof they are vaccinated. The woman uploaded a COVID-19 vaccine card to the state’s Safe Travels Program website; however, that upload was flagged by authorities on suspicion of being counterfeit.

One reason why the card was flagged is that the type of shot on the card was listed as “Maderna.” The actual spelling of that shot should be “Moderna.” When authorities looked further at the information provided on the woman’s form, there were signs that raised more red flags, including her failure to list what hotel she was staying at and false departing flight information. The woman also said she received her vaccine in Delaware, but when authorities checked, that state had no record of her in their system.

After ignoring all attempts to contact her, the woman was arrested a week later at the airport as she was getting ready to board a flight back home.

In this day and age of ever-evolving electronics, credit card fraud is becoming increasingly more common. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there were more than 133,000 reports of credit card fraud across the United States in 2017. Illinois was ranked as one of the states with the most instances of this crime, with 48 complaints out of every 100,000 residents. Though it is not usually a violent offense, credit card fraud can be damaging to the victim, as it is often related to identity theft. If you have been accused of credit card fraud in Illinois, it is crucial that you obtain legal counsel as soon as possible.

Types of Credit Card Fraud

There are many different types of offenses that fall under the umbrella of credit card fraud. If you are charged with any of the following crimes, the penalties could be severe:

• Making a false statement to receive a credit card: This can include lying about certain information, such as your income, ability to pay, or even the use of a false social security number.

• Possessing another person’s credit card: Being in possession of someone else's credit card without their knowledge and with the intent of using it is illegal and considered credit card fraud. 

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If you have ever seen the movie, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” then you have some idea of what white collar crime is. When you hear the word crime, most people think of blood, dead bodies or violence. White collar crime is a type of nonviolent crime that typically does not involve any sort of physical violence. The term white collar crime was coined in 1939 and now encompasses a wide range of crimes, mostly dealing with gaining profits. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), white collar crimes are characterized by deceit, concealment or violation of trust. Though these crimes do not physically hurt people, they are not victimless crimes and they can destroy companies and cost people billions of dollars.

Types of White Collar Crime

There is a large variety of crimes that fall under the white collar crimes umbrella. Crimes that are considered to be white collar crimes include:

• Corporate Fraud: One of the main areas of interest to the FBI is corporate fraud. Corporate fraud includes activities such as falsification of financial information, insider trading and other schemes that were designed to conceal corporate fraud activities and prevent them from being discovered by other governing bodies, like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• Money Laundering: Money laundering occurs when an individual or company conceals or disguises their profits from criminal activities to make them look like they came from a legitimate source.
• Embezzlement: This crime occurs when a person takes personal property from someone who entrusted that property with them. Typically, embezzlement involves the misappropriation of funds and can happen in situations like when an employee finds a way to funnel company money into their personal bank account.
• Investment Fraud: Investment fraud typically involves low or no-risk investments, overly consistent and/or guaranteed returns and complex strategies. One of the most famous types of investment frauds is Ponzi schemes. These schemes usually rely on funds from new investors to pay the debts owed to old investors.

A Wheaton, IL White Collar Crime Defense Lawyer Can Help

Among other law enforcement agencies, the FBI is the main investigating body for white collar crimes. This means that you can face federal charges for white collar crimes, which almost always carry sentences that are more strict than state charges. If you are facing charges for any type of white collar crime, a skilled DuPage County white collar crime defense attorney can help. At the Davi Law Group, LLC, we will launch a full investigation into your case so we can provide you with the best defense possible. Call our office today at 630-580-6373 to schedule a free consultation.

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Over the years, there has been a gradual shift in the method consumers use to make their payments. In the beginning, the only option was cash, followed by a shift to checks for the added security of the money that people had. In more recent years, there has been a transition to debit and credit cards as the primary payment option. Still, checks are used as a form of payment for many and also in bill pay options. Occasionally, an automatic check payment is mailed directly from the bank.  

As a payment is scheduled in advance, the account owner may potentially forget that a deduction will occur and by the time the check is withdrawn from the account, there is simply not enough money to cover the funds requested. If this happens even once, the bank will sometimes make the payment and charge additional fees for the inconvenience. Although, consistently writing bad checks can result in significant legal trouble.

The Offense

A consumer may write a check to a bank for money they do not have in the account and also a company can write a bad check to an individual, such as an employee. To knowingly do so is considered to be a deceptive practice, which is illegal. Although the first offense can be prosecuted, evidence of prior knowledge is indeed accumulated by the second and third offenses.

There are several different types of crimes, and white collar crimes are some of the most complicated kinds of cases to defend. Most white-collar crimes are financial crimes. However, contrary to popular belief, they are not crimes committed only by the wealthy and powerful.

Types of White Collar Crimes

White collar crime is not an official crime designation under the law. Generally, the term white-collar crime is used to refer to non-violent property crimes. Often, they have a financial component. The following examples of crimes in Illinois are widely considered to be white-collar crimes:

• Credit card fraud;
• Writing bad checks;
• Embezzlement;
• Identity theft;
• Securities fraud;
• Insurance fraud; and
• Bribery tax fraud.

Common Defenses