White collar is a loose label in Florida, not a single charge. It covers a family of fraud and financial crimes scattered across the statutes, from scheme to defraud and identity theft to insurance fraud, money laundering, and racketeering. They share a common shape: the State alleges deceit or financial gain rather than force, the degree usually tracks a dollar figure, and the whole case tends to turn on intent and on how the money is counted. They also share a common danger, which is that a single course of conduct can be sliced into a stack of counts and then topped with an enhancement.
These are document cases. They are built from records, accounts, emails, and financial trails, which cuts both ways. The paper can look damning at a glance, and it can also fall apart under scrutiny when intent is thin, the value is inflated, or the search that produced the evidence was unlawful. I defend these cases across the Tampa Bay area and Florida’s Gulf Coast, in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties.
What Counts as a White Collar Case in Florida
There is no chapter titled white collar crime. Instead, the conduct is prosecuted under chapter 817 for fraud and false pretenses, chapter 831 for forgery and counterfeiting, chapter 896 for money laundering, and chapter 895 for racketeering, with the aggravated white collar enhancement in section 775.0844 sitting on top. The table below is the lay of the land, and each charge has its own page with the elements, the degrees, and the defenses.
| Charge | Statute | Top degree |
|---|---|---|
| Scheme to defraud and organized fraud | 817.034 | First-degree felony |
| Identity theft | 817.568 | First-degree felony |
| Credit card fraud | 817.60, 817.61, 817.54 | Third-degree felony and up |
| Insurance fraud | 817.234 | First-degree felony |
| Forgery and uttering | 831.01, 831.02 | Third-degree felony |
| Money laundering | 896.101 | First-degree felony |
| Racketeering and RICO | 895.03 | First-degree felony |
| Aggravated white collar crime | 775.0844 | First-degree felony |
Most of these are graded by the value involved, so the dollar figure the State alleges often decides the degree and the sentence.
Earlier in my career, my practice was almost entirely white-collar defense, including fraud cases, conspiracy charges, and a statewide racketeering prosecution. That work shaped how I read these files: where the money really moved, what the State can prove about intent, and where a paper case quietly falls apart. I defend the state-level side of these matters here in Florida. When a case is federal, or turns federal, I bring in or refer trusted federal co-counsel so you are covered on both tracks rather than caught between them. Learn more about my background.
Why the State Stacks These Charges
Florida gives prosecutors several ways to turn one alleged scheme into many counts. The value of an organized fraud is aggregated, so small amounts add up into a higher degree. Each act of communication in furtherance of a scheme can be charged as its own count. And section 775.0844 adds an enhancement, aggravated white collar crime, for committing at least two related white-collar offenses in a connected scheme that obtains $50,000 or more, which is a first-degree felony carrying a fine up to $500,000 or double the gain or loss.
Florida courts have allowed conviction of both that enhancement and the underlying crimes for the same scheme, treating it the way racketeering is treated. The limits matter just as much as the powers. Florida courts treat grand theft as a lesser offense inside organized fraud, so a person cannot be convicted of both for the same conduct, and the lesser conviction is set aside when that happens. Knowing where the stacking stops is part of how these cases are defended.
The Charges
Each charge is broken down on its own page, with the statute, the way the degree is set, and the defenses that fit it.
Building the Defense Before the Charge
The pre-charge phase is active defense, not waiting. It can mean managing document production so that a response is complete without volunteering more than the law requires, preparing a client for an interview or declining one, and deciding whether and how to engage the prosecutor through a proffer or a written submission. Each of those choices carries risk and opportunity, and they are made with the whole case in view rather than one request at a time.
Parallel proceedings make the timing harder and the stakes higher. A civil forfeiture action, a licensing complaint, or a regulatory inquiry can move on its own schedule while the criminal investigation continues, and a statement made in one can haunt the others. The Fifth Amendment has to be managed across all of them at once. Coordinating these tracks, protecting assets early, and shaping what the State believes before it decides whether to charge is the work that the rest of the case often depends on.
Where a Case Turns Federal
Many fraud, laundering, and identity cases can be charged in state court, in federal court, or both, and the choice changes the rules, the sentencing math, and the strategy. I am not a federal practitioner, and I do not pretend otherwise. What I do is defend the state-level side of these matters here in Florida, and when a case is federal or starts to turn federal, I bring in or refer trusted federal co-counsel and stay involved so the two tracks are coordinated rather than working against each other. What I do is defend the state-level side of these matters here in Florida.
That honesty is the point. You want the lawyer who knows the state system cold on the state case, and you want real federal experience on the federal case, working together. Being clear about the line is better for you than a firm that claims to do everything.
What These Cases Cost Beyond the Sentence
The prison exposure is only part of the picture, and often not the part that hurts most. Almost every one of these convictions carries mandatory restitution, which can follow a person for years and dwarf any fine. Many of them are crimes of dishonesty, so they surface on background checks and can be used to attack credibility long after the case is closed. For anyone holding a license, a fraud conviction can end a career on a separate track in front of a board.
The financial machinery reaches further still. Civil forfeiture can pursue a home, a vehicle, or an account on a timeline of its own, separate from the criminal case. A conviction can carry immigration consequences for a non-citizen, damage to a business and its banking relationships, and a public record that does not go away. Defending the charge well means accounting for all of it, not just the number of years on the sentencing sheet.
How These Cases Are Defended
The defenses run through a few channels. Intent is the first, because almost every one of these statutes requires intent to defraud, and a bad deal, a contract dispute, or an honest business failure is not a scheme. Value is the second, because the degree and the sentence track the dollars, and how the State counted them is frequently wrong or inflated. Good faith and authorization are the third, covering consent in an identity case, permission in a card case, or reliance on a contractor in an insurance case.
Then there is the evidence itself. These cases lean on phones, computers, bank records, and accounts, and that evidence usually requires a warrant. A warrantless search, an overbroad warrant, or a flawed subpoena can be challenged, and suppression can take a paper case apart. The last channel is timing, because the strongest move in a financial case is often made before any charge is filed.
Common Questions
What counts as a white collar crime in Florida?
Florida does not have a single statute called white collar crime. The term covers fraud and financial offenses spread across several chapters, including scheme to defraud, identity theft, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, forgery, money laundering, and racketeering. What ties them together is an allegation of deceit or financial gain rather than force, and charges that rise and fall on intent and the value involved.
Do you handle federal white collar cases?
My practice is state-level defense in Florida. When a matter is charged federally, or starts in state court and turns federal, I bring in or refer trusted federal co-counsel and stay involved so the two tracks are coordinated. Many fraud cases can be charged in either system, and which one you are in changes the rules, the sentencing, and the strategy.
Can one scheme become many charges?
Yes. Florida lets the State aggregate the value of a scheme to raise the degree, charge each act of communication as a separate count, and add an enhancement called aggravated white collar crime on top of the underlying offenses. A single course of conduct can become a stack of counts, which is also where double jeopardy limits and value disputes become important.
What is aggravated white collar crime?
It is an enhancement under section 775.0844 for committing at least two related white-collar offenses in a connected scheme that obtains $50,000 or more. It is a first-degree felony and carries a fine up to $500,000 or double the gain or loss. Florida courts allow conviction of both the enhancement and the underlying crimes, similar to racketeering.
Should I talk to investigators before I am charged?
That decision should be made with a lawyer first. In financial cases the investigation often runs for months through subpoenas, records, and interviews before the State Attorney decides whether to file, and what you say or hand over early can decide whether charges are filed at all. Early counsel is often the highest-value moment in the whole case.
Related: Theft and economic crimes, Search and seizure, Sentencing in Florida, and About Rory Safir.
This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. These offenses are governed by chapters 817, 831, 895, and 896, and section 775.0844, Florida Statutes, and many of the same facts can also draw federal charges, so the exposure should be confirmed against current state and federal law. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
