When you work in the professional world, the lines around what is an acceptable business practice are often blurry, or you may face untrue accusations that you defrauded someone. These allegations are serious, and could cost you your career if you don’t do everything you can to resolve the matter fairly and quickly.
The way you respond to the allegations or charges says a lot about you. Others may interpret your actions any number of ways, so it is wise to generally limit your responses as much as possible to keep from feeding into that vicious cycle.
Facing allegations of fraud is fairly common, especially if you are person with significant assets. Don’t panic and try to explain away the matter. Instead, it is typically wise to say as little as possible and consult with an attorney as soon as you possibly can. Professional legal counsel helps you assess the severity of your circumstances and determine your available defenses.
Silence is truly golden after fraud allegations
Once fraud allegations arise, many individuals succumb to the temptation to cover up something, whether they are actually guilty or not. In fact, it is often the reaction to allegations, and not the allegations themselves that seals the fate of some accused of fraud.
Even if federal agents show up and serve you with charges, you may not have to explain everything away to them. Every single word you say is on the record and may reappear was evidence against you in court. It can be wise to request to speak to an attorney and refuse to speak with anyone about the matter until an attorney is present to represent you.
This goes for friends and family as well. Even if none of them would willingly turn against you, a subpoena from the agency investigating you may force them to disclose your conversations as evidence.
In contrast, your conversations with an attorney who represents you are confidential. Attorneys retain the right to refuse disclosing information about clients. You can save yourself many headaches by remaining quiet on the matter and speaking only to an attorney who can help you build a strong defense in private.
Begin building a defense immediately
Fraud allegations rarely arise if the agency that brings them does not already have some grounds to believe they are legitimate. Once you receive charges, you should begin calmly building a defense as quickly as possible.