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The Economic Crimes Unit
investigates and prosecutes non violent felony property
Crimes. The bulk of the Unit’s cases involve theft,
misapplication of fiduciary property, insurance fraud,
food
 stamp
trafficking, money laundering, tampering with
governmental records, securing execution of a document
by deception, identity theft and computer crime. These offenses are
commonly referred to as White Collar Crimes. The Unit is
also called upon to investigate and prosecute cases
involving public corruption. The Unit is staffed by
three attorneys, three investigators, a forensic
financial analyst, a litigation support specialist and a
secretary. |
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In 2001, the Economic
Crimes Unit recovered and obtained in excess of
$1,693,000 in restitution payments and orders.
Additionally, the Unit’s prosecutions resulted in fines
and forfeitures in excess of $100,000. It also opened over
300 investigations. |
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The Economic Crimes Unit
receives complaints from law enforcement agencies, as
well as the public. If a complaint warrants, it is
assigned to an investigator and an attorney for review
and investigation. Investigations can be time consuming
due to the volume of records required to be examined and
the time required to obtain documents from banks and
other financial institutions. |
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Often, an investigation
reveals that proof of a criminal offense beyond a
reasonable doubt is not possible. In those situations,
the complaining parties may be advised to consult
private attorneys in order to pursue civil remedies. The
Unit’s attorneys are not permitted to represent nor
advise citizens in private lawsuits. A breach of
contract does not constitute a criminal offense but may
give rise to a civil claim for damages. |
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In cases warranting
criminal prosecution, the matter will be presented to a
grand jury. If the grand jury votes to indict an
 offender,
the indictment will be returned to one of the district
courts in Tarrant County with criminal jurisdiction. The
Economic Crimes Unit attorneys conduct the prosecution
and subsequent trial.
The preparation and
prosecution of a white collar offense involves extensive
investigation and preparation. Often the trial of a case
of this type may require more than 100 exhibits. The
Unit has recently obtained multi-media projectors and
computers for courtroom use. This equipment enables
jurors and judges to effectively review vast amounts of
materials in a shorter length of time. Demonstrative
displays including charts, graphs and flow charts are
created by the forensic financial analyst to summarize
voluminous documents required to substantiate an
offender’s guilt. |
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Often, defendants engaging
in economic crimes are first time offenders. Unit attorneys make every effort to secure restitution
payment to the victim through the use of community
supervision or probation. However, this is not possible
in every case. Punishment is often decided by a judge or
a jury after a guilty verdict. |
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