A white collar investigation can upend your career long before anyone files a charge. A subpoena, a call from a federal agent, or a notice from the IRS or SEC is often the first sign that your finances, your business, and your reputation are on the line.
As an Atlanta white collar crime lawyer team, TDE Criminal Defense Attorneys defends executives, professionals, and business owners against fraud and financial crime allegations in Georgia state court and federal court. The earlier you put a white collar crime lawyer in your corner, the more we can do to protect you.
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The earlier a white collar defense lawyer gets involved, the more room there is to protect your career, your finances, and your freedom.
What Is White Collar Crime?
White collar crime is a broad term for financially motivated, non-violent offenses that rely on deception rather than force. Georgia prosecutors bring these cases in state court, and when interstate commerce, the mail, wires, or federal programs are involved, they move to federal court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Because the evidence is built from documents, emails, and financial records, these cases run complex and paper-heavy, and prosecutors often investigate for months or years before announcing charges. The label stretches from a single misstatement on a form to a coordinated scheme involving many people and millions of dollars.
Who We Represent
We represent people whose profession and reputation are on the line: executives and business owners, doctors and other healthcare providers, accountants and financial advisors, bankers, and real estate professionals. Most have never faced the criminal system before, and they stand to lose far more than their freedom. Our Atlanta white collar crime lawyer team understands those stakes and builds the defense around them.
White Collar and Fraud Charges We Defend
Our Atlanta fraud attorneys defend the full range of white collar and financial crime allegations, from a single fraud count to a sprawling federal indictment. As Atlanta securities fraud attorneys, Atlanta healthcare fraud lawyers, and fraud defense attorneys, we handle every financial crime described below.
Fraud in All Its Forms
Fraud means using deception for financial gain, and it takes many forms. We defend clients against:
- Wire fraud and mail fraud: Our wire fraud lawyers defend the use of electronic communications or the mail to carry out a scheme to defraud.
- Bank fraud: As bank fraud attorneys, we defend schemes to defraud a financial institution or obtain its funds through false statements.
- Securities and investment fraud: Our securities fraud attorneys and investment fraud attorneys defend claims of misleading investors, insider trading, Ponzi schemes, and broker or brokerage misconduct.
- Healthcare fraud: Our healthcare fraud attorneys defend false billing, kickbacks, and misrepresentations to insurers, Medicare, or Medicaid.
- Tax fraud: As tax fraud lawyers, we defend allegations of falsifying returns, hiding income, or evading taxes that are owed.
- Mortgage and real estate fraud: Our mortgage fraud attorneys defend false statements on loan applications, appraisal fraud, and title schemes.
- Insurance fraud: As insurance fraud attorneys, we defend false claims and inflated losses submitted to an insurer.
- Consumer and credit card fraud: Our consumer fraud lawyers defend deceptive practices against consumers, including credit card fraud and the unauthorized use of an account, card, or check.
- PPP and pandemic relief fraud: allegations tied to fraudulent applications for federal relief programs.
- Bankruptcy fraud: concealing assets, filing false schedules, or making false statements to the court in a bankruptcy case.
Embezzlement and Theft-Based Crimes
Our embezzlement lawyers defend people accused of taking money or property that was entrusted to them, which Georgia usually charges as theft by conversion or theft by taking. These cases tend to grow out of a job, a business partnership, or a fiduciary role, and the amount involved determines whether the charge is a misdemeanor or a felony. When a matter also involves stolen goods or property, it overlaps with our work on theft and property crime charges.
Identity Theft, Forgery, and Check Fraud
Georgia treats identity fraud seriously under O.C.G.A. § 16-9-121, with penalties reaching up to fifteen years in prison. We also defend forgery, check fraud, and financial transaction card fraud, charges that can attach to something as ordinary as signing or altering a document the state says you had no authority to touch.
Money Laundering and Georgia RICO
Money laundering involves concealing the source of money believed to be tied to illegal activity. Prosecutors often pair it with a Georgia RICO charge under O.C.G.A. § 16-14, which lets the state combine several alleged acts into a single racketeering case that carries five to twenty years in prison plus asset forfeiture. RICO turns a set of separate accusations into one high-stakes prosecution, which is exactly why it demands experienced defense.
How White Collar Investigations Work
White collar cases are usually investigated quietly, long before you ever see a courtroom. Agencies like the FBI, IRS, SEC, and postal inspectors gather records, interview witnesses, and present evidence to a grand jury, sometimes sending a target or subject letter along the way.
If you receive a subpoena or learn you are under investigation, what you do next matters enormously; speaking to investigators without counsel, or deleting anything, can turn a defensible situation into a far worse one. Early, quiet legal work is often where these cases are won.
We can frequently step in during the investigation itself and present your side to prosecutors before they decide whether to charge you at all.
Penalties for White Collar Crimes in Georgia and Federal Court
The exposure in these cases is severe. In federal court, wire fraud and mail fraud each carry up to twenty years in prison, and bank fraud up to thirty. Georgia fraud charges are generally felonies punishable by one to ten years, identity fraud can bring up to fifteen, and a RICO conviction can add five to twenty years on top.
Beyond prison, a conviction can mean heavy fines, restitution, asset forfeiture, the loss of a professional license, and lasting damage to your career and name. Federal sentencing also turns on the alleged dollar loss, so how that figure is calculated can dramatically change your exposure.
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How We Defend White Collar and Fraud Charges
Being accused of fraud is not the same as having committed it. Many white collar cases turn on intent, and a genuine mistake, a good-faith business decision, or a misreading of complex records is not a crime. As white collar criminal defense lawyers, we dig into the documents, challenge how the government built its case, and look for missing intent, unreliable evidence, or overreach.
When it serves you, we engage prosecutors early to seek a declination, a reduced charge, or a resolution that keeps you out of prison and protects your record. In complex matters we work with forensic accountants and financial experts to take apart the government’s numbers and show what the records prove.
Why Choose TDE Criminal Defense Attorneys
TDE Criminal Defense Attorneys, P.C. focuses exclusively on criminal defense across Atlanta and the surrounding counties. We have defended clients since 2009, and our growing team brings more than 50 years of combined courtroom experience.
Founding attorney Tessie D. Edwards has more than 21 years of criminal law experience, and attorney Latoya Simone Williams adds further depth to the defense team. To learn more about our full practice, meet our Atlanta criminal defense attorneys. When your future is on the line, you want white collar crime lawyers in Atlanta who take your case as seriously as you do.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is embezzlement?
Embezzlement is taking money or property that was lawfully entrusted to you, such as funds you managed for an employer or client. In Georgia it is prosecuted as theft by conversion, and the value involved decides whether it is a misdemeanor or a felony.
What is wire fraud?
Wire fraud is using electronic communications, such as phone calls, emails, or text messages, to carry out a scheme to defraud someone from money or property. It is a federal crime that can carry up to twenty years in prison per count.
What is tax fraud, and how is it different from tax evasion?
Tax fraud covers willfully giving false information to tax authorities, such as underreporting income or inflating deductions. Tax evasion is a specific form of tax fraud that involves deliberately avoiding taxes you legally owe. Both are serious, and an honest mistake is a common, often successful defense.
What is mortgage fraud?
Mortgage fraud involves false statements or omissions made to obtain or fund a home loan, including inflated income, falsified appraisals, or straw buyers. It can be charged at the state or federal level depending on how the loan was funded.
Is a white collar crime a felony in Georgia?
Most white collar offenses become felonies once the amount involved crosses Georgia’s felony threshold, and federal fraud charges are felonies as well. A conviction can carry prison time, steep fines, restitution, and a permanent record, which is why these charges are worth fighting hard.
Will my case be in state or federal court?
It depends on the conduct. Cases that touch the mail, interstate wires, banks, or federal programs often move to federal court, while others stay in Georgia state court. The court and the prosecutor shape the strategy, and we defend clients in both.
What should I do if I am under investigation?
Do not talk to investigators, sign anything, or destroy documents. Politely decline to answer questions and contact a white collar defense lawyer right away. The earlier you have counsel, the more you can shape the outcome.
Talk to an Atlanta White Collar Crime Lawyer
If you are facing a fraud allegation or learn you are under investigation anywhere in Georgia, do not wait for charges to arrive. As Atlanta white collar crime lawyers, the team at TDE Criminal Defense Attorneys is ready to protect your rights, your reputation, and your future.
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Call (404) 947-7932 or schedule a confidential consultation with our Atlanta fraud defense team.
