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, mortgage fraud, 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 four attorneys, four investigators, two forensic financial analyst[s], a litigation support specialist and a secretary.

In 2008, the Economic Crimes Unit recovered and obtained in excess of $1,620,000 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.

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.

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.

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 utilizes 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.

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.