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This article provides a brief overview of common marijuana charges in California.  It is critical that anyone charged with a marijuana crime understand the charge and potential defenses to it.

Marijuana crimes are generally divided into three categories: (1) possession, (2) possession for sale and (3) sales. Because these are separate criminal charges with different punishments and defenses it is necessary to examine each charge separately.

Possession of marijuana (Health & Safety Code 11357) is charged when a person possesses marijuana for personal use and not for sale.  Possession of a small amount of marijuana, usually less than 1oz., is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than a $100 fine.  Other marijuana possession charges are misdemeanors, with the exception of possession of hash which can be charged as a felony.  In most cases, people charged with marijuana possession qualify for “drug diversion” which is a drug education program.  If the program is completed the marijuana possession charge is usually dismissed!

Possession of marijuana for sale (Health & Safety Code 11359) is a more serious charge than simple possession.  It is a felony punishable by 16 months, 2 or 3 years in state prison.  “How do the cops and D.A. prove that marijuana was possessed for sale and not for personal use?”  They typically rely on the following types of evidence: defendant has marijuana and baggies or a scale; defendant has marijuana and significant cash; and there is more marijuana than expected for personal use.  Possession for sales charges must be vigorously defended against.  Successful defenses may include (1) insufficient evidence of intent to sell, (2) illegal search and seizure – it is not uncommon for the cops to find marijuana through an illegal search, and (3) showing that even a large quantity of marijuana may be for personal use.

Marijuana sales (Health & Safety Code 11360) is charged when a defendant allegedly sells or transports to sell marijuana or simply offers to do so.  Marijuana sales is generally a felony punishable by a 2, 3 or 4 year prison sentence.  Marijuana sales may be charged from direct evidence of sales – for example a stake out or sting operation – or based on indirect evidence such as a large quantity of marijuana and frequent visitors to a suspected sales premises. A strong defense must be mounted against any marijuana sales charges.  If a an offer to sell was made under duress, as a result of entrapment, based on an illegal search or seizure, or there is otherwise insufficient evidence of actual sales, theses defenses must be raised to challenge the prosecution’s sales charges.

I hope this article has been helpful.

Sincerely,

Garret Weinrieb, Esq.

Valerio | Weinrieb Criminal Defense Attorneys

(note: Information contained within this article is intended for general information purposes only and is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information contained within this article is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship and use of this article, and any information contained herein, does not constitute such a relationship.)

White collar crimes have been happening since the dawn of time. A White collar crime is the act of stealing another person’s personal information by any possible means and using for stealing money or setting up loans under your name. You name it if they have your personal information they can walk around and be you and get you credit score and life fully ruined. Another common crime is stealing the credit card numbers and shopping through the internet.

These cases need special attention. It would be difficult for you to solve such a problem all by yourself. Taking help from an investigator to deal with these cases is best thing you can do. The investigators are specially trained and they know how to deal with these cases. The best place where you can get in touch with them is by going to a private detectives agency. The investigators working here are well trained and well experienced. They make sure you are totally satisfied with their service.

For such services it is better to contact an investigator rather than the local police. The investigators are specialist and they will get you all the required evidence to solve the case. They make it a point that you are safe and do not get into any kind of legal problems. They follow all the rules and abide by the law.

There are many ways in which your personal information can be stolen:

1. Through someone eavesdropping on you typing in your PIN at an ATM.

2. When a computer system is improperly cleaned and disposed of.

3. Improperly disposed of documents either at home or at work.

4. When there is a mail theft

5. When there is a computer hacking.

6. If you used a public computer and did not fully log out of a program.

To get more information about the investigators you can contact a national detective agency right away and get all the information you want. They will also tell you the agency which is located close to your house. In this way you can all your questions cleared.

Ten of the most common white collar offences.

1) Bankruptcy fraud is classed as a white collar crime. In this offence people withhold information or give false information to show they bankrupt so they can avoid punishment in some areas of their misconduct.

2) Blackmail is another white collar crime where the act of threats plays a role. In this offence an individual or entity will threaten to injure, misuse or reveal information that could cause harm to other party. The other party would be a victim and would have to comply with the blackmailer’s demands.

3) Bribery is an offering, giving, receiving, or solicitation of anything of value to influence an action of an official.

4) Cellular Phone fraud is associated with a cellular phone including using a stolen phone and giving fraudulent information to receive phone services.

5) Computer and Internet fraud includes using or applying for credit cards online under false names, unauthorised use of computer, manipulation of a computer’s files, computer sabotage, etc.

6) Counterfeiting is the crime of making unauthorised imitations of a genuine article, typically money, with the intent to deceive or defraud.

7) Credit card fraud is unauthorised and illegal use of a credit card to purchase property or any other valuable items.

Environmental Law violation includes discharge of a toxic substances into the air, water, or soil which pose a significant threat of harm to people, property, or the environment, including air pollution, water pollution, and illegal dumping, in violation of federal environmental law.

9) Forgery is the making of a false writing with the intent to defraud. “Writing” need not to be handwriting: the law of forgery also covers printing, engraving, and keyboarding. Counterfeiting is usually regarded as a specific type of forgery.

10) Tax evasion is the deliberate understatement of tax lawfully owing to the Government.

Hillary Transue was a good student with a clean record, so she never imagined she’d hear a judge sentence her to three months in juvenile detention. What heinous act did this young Bonnie Parker do to invoke the court’s wrath? The 15-year-old merely spoofed her assistant principal on MySpace. (If Skinner only knew it could be that easy to lock up Bart Simpson.)

Tragically, this is not an isolated incident. In this particular Pennsylvania county, a 14-year-old got nine months for lifting change from unlocked cars and a 13-year-old got put away for trespassing in an empty building. What did all these delinquents have in common? Judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella sentenced them and about 5,000 other teens in a scam involving cash for kids.

The scheme dates back to 2002, when Conahan exercised his judicial authority to shut down the government-run youth facility and use tax dollars to redirect teens to privately owned detention centers. For their efforts, the judges received $2.6 million in kickbacks. While it’s hard to believe that Alberto Gonzales never tapped these guys for DOJ, it’s even more remarkable how little time the judges will serve. The total time served by the kids they sentenced could add up to centuries, but Conahan and Ciavarella will serve only 87 months in federal prison. Mid Atlantic Youth Services, who own and operate the centers, face no punishment at all.

When the government hires Halliburton to build prisons and spends nearly $50 billion a year on corrections, it’s no surprise that America incarcerates the highest percentage of its citizens. While these numbers are ridiculously high, white-collar criminals like these two judges make up just a fraction of the inmates.

Many researchers have argued that there’s a double standard when it comes to white-collar crimes. Socially upward criminals are wealthier and more connected, and they can hire the best lawyers and preemptively influence lawmakers to imploring focus on street crimes. That’s why a whistleblower like Harry Markopolos can spend a decade the SEC to stop Bernie Madoff, and the government acted only after the loss of tens of billions of dollars. Maybe he’d have gotten a quicker response if he reported two guys trying to get married or a 13-year-old file-sharing the new Metallica album.

I am not suggesting that we pardon the people who steal our cars or break into our homes, but we should treat the inside trader who stole $100,000 from shareholders with the same scales of justice as the guy who steals your wallet.

Consider the recent cast of villains. There’s Allen Stanford (the Texas billionaire who allegedly crafted his own Ponzi scheme), Enron’s Ken Lay, former senator Ted Stevens, lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former governor Rod Blagojevich. Even with something as tragic as Hurricane Katrina, there were countless dirt bags juicing FEMA with fake charges and pocketing money that was raised for victims.

For every white-collar crime, there are also ethically gray acts that technically don’t break any laws. Richard Fuld helped drive Lehman Brothers into the ground as he raked in nearly $500,000,000. While that’s merely a moral crime, selling his $14 million house to his wife for $100 might be something more. There’s also the military analysts on cable news networks that supported the war without disclosing they’re lobbyists for contractors that ultimately made out like bandits. Sadly, the spotlight has even turned to nonprofit companies.

In a study of nearly 500 nonprofit hospitals, the IRS discovered that top executives make nearly $500,000 year, while 20 of these so-called nonprofit execs make nearly $1.5 million. Gloria King of the United Way of Central Carolinas rakes in about $1.2 million as the Chief Executive, and she’s just one of eight charity-based execs making seven figures. According to Charity Navigator, there are over a hundred others making $500,000-plus.

In the late 19th Century, the Gilded Age started during Reconstruction as wealth rocketed to the top with help from questionable politicians (e.g. Boss Tweed) and financial manipulations. This era, featuring opulent wealth displays by the upper class, eventually led to the Panic of 1893, when the railroad bubble burst and a credit crisis sunk the country into an economic depression. It certainly sounds familiar (except that the 1890s crisis ironically gave tax-raising Republicans a landslide victory over the free market Democrats).

Today, America has its own panic. While there is much to be done, there’s a populist outcry for a level playing field. America needs to prosecute criminals regardless of their social status and political contributions and enforce white-collar crimes with the same zeal that they tackle blue-collar offenses. Whether it’s Ponzi schemers or corrupt judges, there needs to be real enforcement and punishment for financial misdeeds. The white collars need to become too afraid to take the risks.

America has the honor of being history’s great democracy where all men are created equal. To continue fulfilling that promise, we must shake off the shackles that bind Lady Liberty’s hands and truly start treating all men equally.

The seriousness of white collar crime should not be underestimated as these offenses frequently involve large sums of money together with an element of breach of trust and often with the involvement of co-conspirators. The offense of conspiracy carries with it a potential life sentence…” conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to carry out a criminal purpose, whether that purpose is an end in itself or a means to an end.”

These cases are usually complicated and may involve the analysis of thousands of documents by specialist police officers over a period of years. A conviction can lead to a sentence of imprisonment even if the offender has no previous record of criminal convictions. If you have been accused of an offense of this nature you need to be absolutely sure that the firm of solicitors that you instruct to represent you in court know what they are doing and that they have the track record and experience to properly present your defence. If you are being investigated or have been arrested or charged you need to know that your lawyers have the expertise to handle the most demanding cases including:-

corporate fraud
Department of Trade and Industry cases
VAT and Inland Revenue investigations
accounting investigations
mortgage fraud
large scale fraud against financial institutions
charities fraud

Legal Aid for the defence of white collar crime charges in the Magistrates Court is available without a means test and in the Crown Court legal aid will be granted provided that the court is satisfied that the interests of justice are served by publicly funding a defence team. In these cases the interests of justice test may be satisfied in the following circumstances:-

if there is likely to be a sentence of imprisonment if convicted
if mental or physical disability or language problems cause difficulties in understanding the proceedings
if the outcome of a guilty plea or verdict could lead to termination of employment
for appeals against decisions of the courts
for proceedings relating to allegations of contempt of court

If you are under investigation or have been arrested or charged with an offense you need to be sure that your solicitor has the expertise and experience to protect you from the loss of your liberty. Serious fraud defence is a specialized area of legal work and it is in your interests to be represented by an expert.

Have you opened a medical statement recently and had too many charges on it? Were you charged for examinations that you did not need? Or were the charges from a doctors office you did not use? You may have been a victim of a white collar crime! It can happen to anyone! 

White Collar Crime is a term that was defined by Edwin Southerland, Sociologist of criminology. The term is identifying those illegal non-violent activities that involve traditional notions of deceit, deception, concealment, manipulation, breach of trust or illegal circumvention. These crimes have been known to be committed by business professional and government agents. Today it is known that white collar crime can be committed by anyone, from many different backgrounds; whether it is race, gender, education or social status. White collar crimes include: anti-trust law violations, bankruptcy fraud, bribery/kickbacks, computer/internet fraud, counterfeiting, credit card fraud, embezzlement, environmental law violations, financial crimes, government fraud, health care fraud, identity theft, insider trading, insurance fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, public corruption, qui tam, securities exchange, tax evasion, telemarketing fraud and trade secret theft. Though these crimes are non-violent they have a great affect on corporate companies, consumers and the United States economy.
The rise in white collar crime incidents has also contributed to a rise in cost to the nation. The cost of corporate crime to society is many times that of organized crime or street crime. Corporate crime can cost billions of dollars, but because these losses are frequently spread out over so many unaware victims, it usually does not create the original impact as a store robbery that only cost a few hundred dollars. There are various types of white collar crime that increased economic hardship for the average citizen and consumer. Such white collar crimes increase the cost of doing business, which impacts consumer through increased prices and decreased services. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) these types of crimes cost the United States more than 300 billion dollars annually.
Insurance Fraud, excluding medical fraud, accounts for about 40 Billion dollars annually. While premiums are increased due to fraud, it is costing the average family about $400-$700 more annually for insurance. According to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA), it is estimated that about 3% or 68 billion dollars of all Health Care spending is lost to Health Care fraud. The FBI estimates a loss as high as 10% for Health Care related fraud. Due to the aging of the baby boomers Health Care fraud is only expected to rise because of the high insurance rates and medical bills. This increase in Health Care Insurance Fraud will also increase medical cost because people also have to pay to replace the money that is lost in the cases of fraud that take place. Businesses and consumers are not only loosing financially; People are losing lives and savings, their health is put in danger, the cost of everyday goods are higher, honest people are loosing their jobs and honest businesses are loosing money.
Bankruptcy and antitrust offenses are having the greatest impact on the economy. Fraud committed by executives does not only damages stock holders but public confidence for corporations. Some types of fraud hurt the most vulnerable; telemarketing frauds target the elderly who are usually at home and sometimes with no one to help them with such things. Telemarketing companies committing fraud are hard to track down and prosecute because most of the companies are between jurisdiction; making it harder to be investigated by local officials. The Government Accountability Office estimates that about 10% of all funds of domestic programs will be lost through contracting processes linked to public corruption. Computer fraud via the internet is used to acquire personal information such as credit card numbers, usernames, passwords or other information that can be use in criminal activities. A study done in 2004 by the Federal Trade Commission showed that fourteen percent of consumer fraud is achieved through the internet or email.
Greed is one of the main reasons people commit white collar crimes; they are trying to get rich of hard working people. Today there are many agencies and organizations trying to combat white collar crime; such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National White Collar Crime Center, The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and others. They provide information for consumers on ongoing cases of white collar crime and how to protect them selves from these types of crimes. Most of these agencies also have contact information where white collar crimes can be reported.

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