South Carolina Criminal Lawyer Blog

Jerry Wells is accused of embezzling from another company while out on bond pending his surrender to federal prison. Wells was the CFO of Doctors Care medical clinics from 1995 until he was caught in 2008. The State of Columbia reported that Wells had been hired to get the company our of bankruptcy. Now it appears another $40,000.00 has been embezzled from an unknown company. With this new information Wells is in for a rude awakening at his sentencing hearing. His previous agreement of 6 1/2 years will be down off the table. Under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, a federal judge may review his relevant conduct at sentencing. In this case a good federal defense lawyer will have to work overtime to avoid a massive increase in prison time.
Embezzlement is a white collar crime, and as such carries less severe periods of incarceration than gun and drug related crimes. The actual time of incarceration is based in large part on the actual and the intended amount of monetary loss that can be attributed to a particular defendant. One thing is certain, the probation officer interviewing the defendant will add as much loss as possible to the Presentence Investigation Report. It is the defense lawyer who must get the loss amount down to a low number at sentencing. Our federal defense lawyer is experienced in objecting to loss amounts and argue actual loss v. intended loss at a federal sentencing.

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The Department of Justice has been pushing health care related fraud investigations for the past several years. This includes medicare fraud and medicaid fraud investigations. Our federal defense lawyers have been in contact with several government agents and attorneys for the government in an effort to prevent several individuals and corporations from facing federal indictments. This type of case is considered a white collar case as is any fraud based indictment. The office of the Inspector General also conducts investigations into this type of allegation. With any investigation, a good federal defense lawyer is important. It is critical to understand that an investigation titled as an audit, examination or clarification, is still an investigation. Any investigation can lead to an indictment. Our federal defense lawyers have handled these types of cases in many different states.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR?
One of the biggest motivators for a health care fraud investigation is the fact that anyone who reports the violation/s may be eligible to receive a monetary reward for reporting the fraud. Who would do this to a company that has not done anything wrong? An employee that was fired because of attitude or performance or for fraudulently billing themselves. The employee then contacts the government or one of several private entities that also seek a payoff for their investigative work. The most important thing to do when there is even a hit of a disgruntled employee and an investigation is to call an attorney. The worst thing to do is destroy documents, modify documents or do anything outside your normal course of business. It is critical for a good federal defense lawyer to get involved and initiate his own investigation. It is important to understand the dynamics of these types of investigations and the possible outcome.

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An Horry County Police officer was arrested for Driving Under the Influence near Glenns Bay Road just South of Myrtle Beach. DUI arrests are common place in the Myrtle Beach area, along with many other alcohol related violations. Public intoxication is a very common case for Myrtle Beach Lawyers to defend. Many good lawyers in Myrtle Beach specialize in these types of cases in municipal and city courts. The need for an attorney in this type of criminal case depends on the value it may have for the particular defendant. Many people do not care about having a conviction on their record, but many cannot afford the increase in the insurance and possible court fines for being found guilty of a DUI.
This particular Horry County officer (Parker) would do well to hire a reputable attorney to represent him in this case. He is now suspended without pay most likely and will need to get the case resolved as soon as possible. A good Myrtle Beach criminal lawyer could handle the case quickly for him.

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