Prefiling Public Assistance Fraud

These days, it seems like the people of the United States are culturally, politically, and socially split into two very different camps. These ideological divides seem to continue to drive us to the extremes of the political spectrum. To the right, small government, low taxes, and pure capitalism is preferred. And to the further left, more government regulation, social programs and welfare are part of the ideology. The reality is that our government operates somewhere in the middle. Florida, run by a republican controlled government has a robust health care system providing medicaid, child care and food stamps.

As with any government program, the criminal industrial complex has intruded into the States welfare program to criminally punish those who are found to have abused the system. While this may seem obvious, that people who break the law should be punished, the reality is that public assistance fraud is often an offense committed by people who are left with little other choice. When we look at the information provided by the prosecution on our clients’ cases, we often find that they relied on public assistance in order to obtain needed child care, put food on the table, and make sure their children received essential medical care. Unfortunately, those same clients often turn down pay raises or other benefits from employers because the benefits gained would outweigh the loss of essential benefits provided by the government. Learning about our clients’ lives through the lens of public assistance investigations often reminds us how tenuous our clients’ financial lives really are. Prosecutors and investigators are not quite as understanding as we are, so if you are investigated for public assistance fraud, you should immediately contact a St. Petersburg criminal defense lawyer to start building your defense.

We often find the people investigated for public assistance fraud have never before dealt with the criminal justice system. These clients are often afraid of the consequences of their actions and have no idea what to do. Those same clients, due to their understandable ignorance of the system, often end up cooperating with the investigators on their case to their own detriment. People come to us in various stages of the investigation. Those that seek out a lawyer as soon as they know they are being investigated for a crime often end up in the best position to secure a positive resolution on their case. Those that wait too long can end up with charges filed and warrants issued for their arrest without their knowledge.

Because of the amount of public assistance fraud cases that our firm handles, we have developed an effective system to deal with such cases prior to the filing of formal charges against our clients. Upon retaining our firm, we immediately reach out to the investigators on the case in order to gauge the veracity of their criminal investigation. We stay in contact with the investigators until they submit the case to the local state attorneys office. Once with the prosecution, we attempt to resolve the case prior to charges being filed or to convince them to dismiss the charges. If there is no way to prevent charges from being filed, we make sure to prepare our clients fully for the process of turning themselves in on the warrants so that they do not end up arrested in front of their families in the middle of the night. Should you have a pending public assistance fraud investigation, don’t wait to see what happens, take the case into your own hands by retaining a skilled St. Petersburg criminal defense lawyer.

The attorneys at Hanlon Law have the experience and dedication to secure the best results on your case. If you find yourself charged with public assistance fraud or any criminal offense, call us today for a consultation at 727.289.0222.