Being charged with a federal crime, such as white collar crime, is different
than being charged with a state crime. While there are still penalties
and consequences for both, federal crimes fall under the jurisdiction
of federal courts which typically have their own guidelines and procedures.

Federal investigations can be thorough and all-encompassing, often resulting
in federal charges. One New Jersey man is about to discover the implication
of being charged with a federal crime. He and several others were charged
with tax refund fraud; he was recently sentenced.

According to the article, the men allegedly stole the identification of
hundreds of individuals. They were accused of using that information to
file fraudulent tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service refunded those
tax returns, with the money ending up with the men. Several million dollars
were refunded to the false tax returns.

As with any crime, there is a penalty if convicted of the crime. The New
Jersey man pled guilty and was sentenced to 3 years and one month in federal
prison. The fate of the other three involved is pending; however all have
pled guilty to the tax fraud charges.

It is unclear how the IRS or federal investigators were made aware of the
tax refund scheme. However it is likely that once the conspiracy was detected
investigators aggressively pursued information to charge the individuals.

In some instances, when people are the focus of a federal investigation,
they are unsure what the next step should be to protect their rights as
individuals. Often it is beneficial to have a good defense to help minimize
the risk of serious consequences further down the line.

Source: Forbes online, “NJ man sentenced in tax refund fraud scheme,”
Associated Press, 12 July 2011