There are different types of fraud crimes that a person can engage in. No matter which type of fraud that you have been arrested for, it is essential to seek professional legal services as soon as possible. The Law Offices of Martin Hart will aggressively represent any person in Las Vegas facing any type of fraud crime allegations.
Definition and Types of Fraud Crimes in Nevada
Nevada laws describe fraud as an act of deliberately misrepresenting yourself to receive benefits that are not legally entitled to be yours. The kind of benefits included in this kind of action represents a wide range of aspects. This includes insurance proceeds, money, public services, housing, and other forms of benefits. Let’s have a closer look at every type of Nevada fraud crime.
Auto Insurance Fraud
Car insurance is defined as an act of deceiving an insurance company intentionally to obtain some monetary benefits that you are not legally obligated to get. Examples of auto insurance fraud include:
- Inflating the expenses for repairing a damaged vehicle
- Abandoning your vehicle and filing a claim alleging that another person stole it. This kind of fraud is described as owner giver-ups
- Vandalizing your car intentionally and filing a claim that the damages were as a result of an accident
- Filing a false statement that an automobile collision caused your injuries.
Please note, you do not need to own a vehicle to be prosecuted for auto insurance fraud. For instance, a physician who files a false medical report related to an injured driver would face prosecution for this offense.
Defrauding an insurance company falls under category D felonies in Nevada. The possible punishment for such an offense include:
- State prison sentence for one to four years
- A maximum of $5,000 fines
- Restitution
The Nevada Attorney General is involved in prosecuting most insurance frauds in Nevada. This is different from other crimes that are prosecuted by the local district attorney.
Bank Fraud
Bank frauds are carried out when a person or people intentionally carry out an artifice or scheme to deceive a financial institution or obtain property or money protected by a financial institution through pretense.
Bank fraud is a federal crime that falls under 18 U.S.C section 1344 and can occur even without the offender physically walking into a banking institution. This makes it different from a federal crime of bank robbery, which requires the perpetrator to walk into a bank to consider it as a crime.
If you are successfully convicted for this offense, you will face penalties such as:
- A maximum of thirty years in federal prison
- A maximum fine of $1,000,000
- Restitution
Credit Card Fraud
Credit card fraud is committed in different ways. This include:
- Use of someone else’s credit card without his or her permission
- Use of an expired or revoked credit car
- Deceiving a credit card applicant
- Use of a fake credit card
This kind of offense is a violation of Nevada laws section 205.760 and is a Category D felony. The possible penalties include:
- Prison sentence for one to four years
- A fine of $5,000 which is decided under the discretion of a judge
- Restitution
Foreclosure Fraud
Foreclosure consultants can face prosecution if they deceive a homeowner and do not abide by the terms and conditions of their contract. Examples of behaviors that fall under this kind of fraud include:
- Receiving compensation outside the terms and conditions of the agreement between yourself and the homeowner
- Taking the power of attorney of a homeowner to review legal documents related to homeownership
- Misrepresenting the services that you are expected to provide
Committing a single violation of NRS 645F.400 is considered a category C felony. The possible punishment includes:
- Prison sentence for three to twenty years
- A maximum fine of $50,000
- Restitution
Gaming Fraud
In Nevada, it is unlawful to use information that is unknown to the public while gambling. This kind of offense resembles insider trading, although it deals with gambling in casinos rather than the stock market. Examples of gaming fraud include:
- A casino employee revealing to a patron that a specific blackjack table is a hot deck
- A situation where a casino employee shows to a patron that a particular slot machine is loose
- Fixing a game to achieve a predetermined outcome as a dealer
Gaming fraud in Nevada is a violation of NRS 465.070 and is considered as a category B felony. The potential punishment for violating this statute include:
- Prison sentence for one to six years
- A maximum fine of $5,000
- Restitution
Health Care Fraud
You might be arrested for health care fraud if you are found deceiving a health insurance company about the money that you should be given. Any professional in the medical field can be involved in this kind of fraud. Examples of health care fraud include:
- Providing false patient records
- Double-billing
- Billing medical procedures that you did not perform
- Unbundling or up-coding a service or item
- Agreeing to kickbacks
Healthcare fraud in Nevada is considered a violation of NRS 422.369 and is a Category D felony. The potential penalty that results from violating this statute include:
- Prison sentence for one to four years
- A maximum fine of $5,000
- Restitution
The Nevada Attorney General is involved in prosecuting most of the healthcare frauds instead of the local district attorney.
Mail Fraud
Federal mail fraud is categorized into four elements. These elements are as follows:
- A fraudulent scheme existed to divest an institution or individual property or money. This includes divesting through trade secrets and ethical behaviors
- You had an intention to defraud
- Your fraudulent intention involved misrepresenting truthful facts
- You employed mail to undertake the fraud
Mail fraud is usually prosecuted along with other types of fraud, such as securities and bank fraud. It is also a violation of 18 U.S.C section 1341, and the potential penalties include:
- Federal imprisonment for twenty years
- Fine
- Restitution
If the fraudulent scheme involved a federal disaster relief or defrauding a financial institution, the possible sentence include:
- A maximum of thirty years of federal imprisonment
- A maximum fine of $1,000,000
- Restitution
Mortgage Fraud
Making a false statement or concealing a material to conduct a mortgage lending transaction deliberately is illegal. Examples of mortgage fraud include:
- Falsely modifying a loan to take hefty fees but fail to deliver as promised
- Making false loan applications to by putting wrong information on mortgage applications
- Making fraudulent appraisals by bribing property appraisers to exaggerate the value of your home
Mortgage fraud is a violation of NRS 205.372 and is a Category C felony. The possible penalties include:
- Prison sentence for one to ten years
- A maximum fine of $10,000
- Restitution
If you are involved in multiple mortgage frauds, the offense falls under Category B felony. The potential consequences for violating this statute include:
- Three to twenty years in prison
- A maximum fine of $50,000
- Restitution
Obtaining Money By False Pretenses
In Nevada, it is outlawed to profit from misrepresenting a material during a monetary transaction. Typical scenarios that explain this kind of practice are:
- Accepting a paycheck for a job that you did not do
- Selling goods that are not delivered to the buyer once they are paid for
- Locking your tenants out of your house once they have paid their rent
Obtaining money through pretenses is a violation of NRS 205.380. The penalties that result from violating this statute vary depending on the amount of money involved. If you were involved in falsely obtaining less than $650, the offense becomes a misdemeanor. The potential penalty includes:
- A maximum of six months in jail
- A maximum fine of $1,000
- Restitution
If the money involved is more than $650, this becomes a category B felony, and the potential penalty includes the following:
- One to six years of sentence in prison
- A maximum fine of $10,000
- Restitution
Securities Fraud
All fraudulent activities related to securities or stock markets are highly illegal in Nevada. Some of the common types of securities fraud include:
- Unauthorized trades
- Insider trading
- Churning or selling securities to acquire extra commission
- Unsuitability or investing fund from a client to venture in risky markets without informing them about the risk
Securities fraud is considered as Category B felony and carries potential penalties such as:
- One to twenty years of service in a prison
- $500,000 of fine
- Restitution
Securities fraud is also part of federal offenses. Common scenarios include the violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. Violation of federal laws related to securities carries potential penalties such as:
- A maximum of twenty years in federal prison
- A total of $5,000,000
- Restitution
Unemployment Insurance Fraud
Current and former employers can be perpetrators in unemployment insurance fraud in the following ways:
- Collecting unemployment benefits whereas you are working in a different jo
- Cashing another person’s unemployment check
- Giving false information about your employee to avoid payment
- Intentionally holding your employee’s deductible and failing to pay them to the state
Unemployment insurance fraud is a violation of NRS 612.445. If the offense involved less than $650, this becomes a misdemeanor, and the potential penalties include:
- A maximum jail sentence of six months
- A maximum fine of $1,000
- Restitution
If the offense involves a total amount of more than $650 but less than $3,500, it becomes a category C felony. The possible penalties include:
- A prison sentence for one to five years
- A maximum of $10,000
- Restitution
- A penalty that is equal to15% of the amount that was fraudulently received
- An additional punishment that is decided under the discretion of the judge
Finally, if the violation involved $3,500 or more, it becomes a category B felony. The potential penalty includes:
- A prison sentence that lasts between one to ten years
- A maximum fine of $10,000
- Restitution
- A penalty that equals 15% the amount that was involved in the fraud
- An additional punishment that is decided under the discretion of the judge
Welfare Fraud
Welfare fraud involves getting more welfare benefits than you are entitled to by deceiving social services. Examples of offenses that fall under this kind of fraud include:
- Using a fake ID to receive the welfare benefits
- Intentionally failing to report your assets to increase the benefits of your payment
- Taking more benefits from a different state
Welfare fraud in Nevada is a violation of NRS 422A.700 and is prosecuted as a category D felony. The possible penalties include:
- A prison sentence for one to four years
- A maximum fine of $50,000
- Restitution
Wire Fraud
Federal wire fraud involves five elements, which include:
- You were involved in a fraudulent scheme that led to losses to another person or business
- You intended to defraud
- your lies were material to the scheme
- You used wire communication like email or telephone to carry out the scheme
- The wire communication was across state lines
Wire fraud is usually prosecuted along with other offenses related to fraudulent schemes such as securities and bank fraud and is considered a violation of 18 U.S.C section 1343. the potential penalties for violating this statute include:
- A federal prison sentence for a maximum of twenty years
- A fine
- Restitution
If the scheme involves defrauding a financial institution or disaster relief, the potential penalty includes:
- A federal prison sentence for a maximum of thirty years
- A maximum fine of $1,000,000
- Restitution
Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Workers’ compensation fraud is committed when a person or people lie to obtain insurance benefits. Examples of this fraud include:
- Trying to get some money you are not entitled to as an employee
- Trying to pay fewer workers’ comp premium as an employer
- Attempting to avoid paying benefits as a carrier
- Over-billing or providing unnecessary treatment to get more money
In Nevada, workers’ comp fraud is considered a Category D felony. The potential penalty includes:
- A prison sentence that lasts for one to four years
- A maximum fine of $50,000
- Restitution
Find a Fraud Defense Attorney Near Me
Are you or your loved one facing any fraud crime charges in Las Vegas? The time to act is now. Any fraud crime in Nevada has a relatively severe punishment, as you have learned above. At The Law Office of Martin Hart, you will find a dedicated attorney who will not only bring legal knowledge and experience but a unique background of defense to your case. For a free legal consultation on the details about your case, contact us anytime by calling 702- 380-4278 and speak to us.