White-collar crime consists of a sophisticated and complex scheme involving specialized knowledge. Most of the time these actions are hidden among other legitimate behavior. The crimes are often not detected because the victims of the crimes are diffused among a larger group of people.
The Criminal scheme mastermind often relies on lower level employees to carry out the dirty work. Without the proper criminal defense representation, the lower level participant may face the same type of prosecution, penalties and punishment as the mastermind of the plan.
Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) crimes and Racketeering Influenced and conspiracy to commit RICO charges set out blanket rules for assigning blame in white-collar cases. Often the crimes begin because of an individual's personal or professional financial difficulties. The white-collar crime often begins as a way to temporarily escape the financial difficulty through fraudulent means.