Types of Connecticut Fraud and Their Penalties

There are many different types of fraud that you can be charged with. In most cases, fraud means a federal crime, and as such, it gets pursued by federal agencies and prosecutors. For information on the most common types of fraud, read on.

Healthcare Fraud

Healthcare is a multi-billion dollar industry, and much of that money is either going to or coming from the government. If an individual or a corporation has misrepresented itself in an effort to collect additional money from either the government or an insurance company, they have committed healthcare fraud. Oftentimes, this involves fraudulent billing for procedures not done or adding charges to invoices to the government sponsored health care of elderly or poor people. In some instances, everyone in the office can get charged with the crime as a conspiracy. So, if this is the case, it is important that you prove that you are not involved in the fraud. Also, having a lawyer assist you in these situations is important.

Federal penalties for healthcare fraud include:

Up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 10,000.
If the healthcare fraud caused a patient to be injured, the defendant faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years and a fine of up to $15,000.
If a patient dies as a result of healthcare fraud, the maximum punishment is imprisonment for life.

Penalties

Connecticut penalties for healthcare fraud are the same as those for larceny. This chart reviews these penalties:

*Larceny Degree*	*Property Involved*	*Classification*	*Penalty*
First	Over $10,000	Class B felony	Up to 20 years prison; up to $15,000 fine; or both
Second	Over $5,000	Class C felony	Up to 10 years prison; up to $10,000 fine; or both
Third	Over $1,000	Class D felony	Up to five years prison; up to $5,000 fine; or both
Fourth	Over $500	Class A misdemeanor	Up to one year prison; up to $2,000 fine; or both
Fifth	Over $250	Class B misdemeanor	Up to six months prison; up to $1,000 fine; or both
Sixth	$250 or less	Class C misdemeanor	Up to three months prison; up to $500 fine; or both

*Note: This chart originally featured here: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/rpt/2005-R-0025.htm

Tax Fraud

When you sign your taxes, you attest to the accuracy of the information contained in them. If you have filed a tax return that is not accurate, and you have failed to include money you have earned, you could be facing the charges of tax fraud. Tax fraud can be resolved civilly or criminally, and it is possible for a person to go to federal prison for not declaring and paying proper taxes for their income.

Wire Fraud

In the United States, mail and wire fraud is any scheme to intentionally deprive another of property or services by use of mail or electronic communications. With the rise of smart phones and digital communications, the FBI has specialists who are deeply involved in the tracking and detection of fraudulent activity online. Also included in these sections are events wherein a person may claim to have certain funds from a buyer in a real estate transaction and file forms electronically that say they do, but the really do not. This type of activity routinely targets lawyers and real estate developers.

Wire fraud in the United States carries with it the following penalties:

Prison sentence of up to 20 years and/or fine of up to $15,000, if the fraud involves the use of the US Postal Service
Prison sentence of up to 30 years and/or fine of up to $1,000,000 if the fraud affected a credit union, bank, or other financial institution.

Getting Help

If you need help defending yourself against a Connecticut fraud charge, we can help. Contact our office for further information.