NATIONWIDE FEDERAL CRIMINAL DEFENSE (213) 542-0994

Consumer Fraud

Federal Consumer Fraud Defense Lawyer

Consumer fraud has become one of the most common white collar crimes. The consequences resulting from a conviction of consumer fraud are serious and require a federal defense attorney that has experience and knowledge on the federal laws concerning consumer fraud. 

When you intentionally and knowingly deceive a person or group of persons for personal gain you may be charged with consumer fraud. These deceptions often are for the purpose of committing auction fraud, lottery scams, identity theft, Ponzi schemes, web scams, and more.

This has to do with telemarketing fraud and anything related to any type of white collar fraud where consumers are being cheated or defrauded.  A lot of these telemarketers are very difficult to track.  They're tricking people. 

They're taking thousands of dollars and the federal government wills swoop in if they believe it's a big enough scheme that requires their sophistication, their level of funds and their level of expertise as far as the FBI, Homeland Security, the Secret Service, all of the different agents that are available at the federal level in a criminal-related matter.

Federal consumer fraud occurs when individuals or entities try to take advantage of people by way of sending them false and/or scam-related information via mail, the internet, or by calling them, ultimately in an attempt to obtain their money.

There are laws put in place by the federal government to protect individuals from consumer fraud. If someone believes they may be under investigation for a consumer fraud case, they should avoid making any statements prior to speaking with an attorney, since much of the best evidence in these cases comes from the person's own statements or actions.

Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act

The Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act is a federal law in the United States designed to protect consumers from telemarketing deception and abuse and it's enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. This act provided greater controls over telemarketing and gave more control to prescribe rules to the Federal Trade Commission.

After the act was passed, the Federal Trade Commission is required to prohibit deceptive telemarketing practices, keep telemarketers from any conduct that's coercive or invasions of privacy, set restrictions on the time of day and night for unsolicited calls, and to require the nature of the call to be disclosed.

Really what they're trying to do is to stomp out consumers being defrauded, tricked and cheated by these telemarketers and different individuals who take advantage of the elderly, who take advantage of people who are less sophisticated and naive and don't realize that some of these scams are absolutely ridiculous.  I get people all the time that come to my office.

People are calling them and telling them that they're under investigation — getting their social security number and all of their information and then they're using that information to defraud them and scam them and people just don't know.  They don't realize. 

They get put on the spot.  Somebody sophisticated with a scheme, they've got a script and they've got a plan and they're basically defrauding these consumers out of thousands of dollars.

So, a lot of times the feds have to get in to surveil, track and investigate, use forensic experts to be able to figure out who these people are, what their IP addresses are and then they execute search warrants and they arrest them.  They do their investigation and prosecute these people to the full extent of the law.

U.S. Code Title 15 –  Chapter 87 – Telemarketing Fraud

So, if you or a loved one is charged with some sort of a consumer fraud offense, they're using U.S. Code: Title 15, which is the United States Code.  There's an Assistant United States Attorney involved.  They're talking about consumer fraud.  They're talking about these telemarketing schemes or any other schemes. 

There's other schemes where someone's loved ones die and all of a sudden, they receive something in the mail and these people are trying to trick them related to their property and related to their loved one's interest.

So, the feds will get involved in any of these things if they believe it's serious enough.  If they don't believe it's on a big enough level or big enough playing field and there's not enough dollars involved, then they will just pass it over to the state government and let the local authorities go deal with the individuals and they will arrest them and prosecute them for these consumer-related fraud offenses.

Consult with our Federal Criminal Attorneys

So, if you're being charged with a consumer-related fraud offense at the federal, you're being investigated, it's at the pre-filing stage, get to an attorney.  If you're a target, you need somebody to represent you.  I defend these cases all the time.  I defend them zealously. 

I give my clients their rights, their interests and I do everything I can to get their federal criminal manner resolved as soon and as best as possible. Regardless of the type of consumer fraud charge you are facing, it is necessary to obtain an experienced and aggressive consumer fraud federal defense lawyer.

Our federal attorneys have the necessary knowledge and skill to effectively and efficiently represent your consumer fraud case. In some cases, there might be months and even years of gathered evidence and our job and duty to you as our client is to fight and contest all the evidence presented against you. 

Our goal and top priority is to get you the best results possible. We argue on your behalf aggressively and formulate a legal strategy to get you favorable results.  Contact the Hedding Law Firm to review the details of your case.

Contact Us Today

Hedding Law Firm is committed to answering your questions about Federal Criminal Defense issues in Los Angeles and Encino California. We'll gladly discuss your case with you at your convenience. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

Menu