Public assistance fraud cases, such as food stamp fraud and medicare fraud, have seen a serious uptick in prosecution in recent years. Florida, even as a conservative state, has a robust public assistance program. The program provides essential services to those requiring medical care, food assistance, childcare, and in some cases even direct cash payments. Florida’s public assistance and welfare system is essential for underprivileged families to survive. However, Florida’s system, which primarily operates via the internet on an almost honor-system basis, is ripe for abuse and exploitation. And whenever exploitation is possible, people will take advantage.
Committing public assistance fraud is shockingly simple. Most often, applicants for public assistance benefits will simply falsify a report from their employer or falsify their own income report if they are self employed. Once that information is submitted to the online portal, public assistance benefits will be distributed to the applicant. People can go months or even years receiving public assistance that they are not entitled to. The Department of Financial services will sometimes audit accounts that they believe could potentially be fraudulent. Many people find out immediately that they are under investigation and choose to either do nothing or to cooperate with the financial investigators. This is a huge mistake. If you find out you are under investigation for public assistance fraud, you should immediately reach out to a skilled Clearwater criminal defense lawyer for help.
Public Assistance ArrestsOur firm has had significant success in defending many types of cases before the State Attorneys Office makes a formal filing decision. If you decide to either represent yourself or to wait until you are formally charged or arrested in a public assistance fraud investigation, you subject yourself to multiple legal dangers. First, many defendants in welfare fraud cases do not have criminal histories and have likely never been arrested. One of the biggest fears of many of these defendants is the fear of being arrested. If you choose to go it alone, you will likely be left in the dark by the financial investigators and the State Attorney. If and when they decide to file charges, a warrant will be issued for your arrest and the police will likely show up to your home in force to serve the warrant without regard to the psychological effect of such force on you and your family.
A dedicated and experienced Clearwater criminal defense lawyer can help prevent that anxiety. When we take on cases prior to formal filing, we follow up with the State Attorney’s office constantly to check on the status of the case. Instead of surprise with police at the door, our clients can confidently expect to know if and when charges will be filed and will be guided through the process to eliminate surprise visits from the police. Our public assistance fraud clients consistently tell us how happy they were to avoid the stresses and surprises of often year long investigations by having us handle their cases.
Speak to our Attorneys TodayMost firms are happy to take your money and bury your file away knowing nothing will happen for months or years during a public assistance fraud investigation. Our firm prefers to take a proactive and aggressive approach which consistently results in better outcomes for our clients. We take pride in our tenaciousness and our ability to achieve the goals of our clients. Facing criminal charges can be one of the most stressful experiences a person can go through. Our team is well aware of that and in order to alleviate that stress, we keep in constant contact with our clients to update them during every stage of their case. If you have found yourself being investigated or charged with a welfare fraud or public assistance fraud offense, contact us today for a consultation at 727.897.5413.