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White-collar crime is called many things, but in essence it comes in two flavors - blue collar and white-collar crime. White-collar crime is almost considered by those who commit it to be a badge of honor, since it’s an intricate crime of great planning. A seemingly respectable person working at a seemingly ordinary job usually perpetrates it. It could be insider trading, computer crimes or bankruptcy fraud.

Read the daily news and you’ll see just how many people try and get away with bankruptcy fraud. This involves hiding some of your assets when you file for bankruptcy. The government takes a really dim view of this kind of crime.

The government isn’t thrilled with this practice largely because you get funds back from the same people you owe money to help you get back on your feet. Concealing assets or money means you’re stealing and committing the criminal offense of white-collar crime.

The 21st century has brought with it a whole rash of computer crimes. The perfect almost anonymous crime perpetrated by using the Internet. The biggest crime is identity theft, causing the victim untold anguish and harm - mostly involving destroying their credit rating. This happens more often than people think and yet they still don’t take the kinds of precautions they should to protect themselves from losing their identities.

Identity theft is so easy as thousands of Americans buy products online with credit cards and their information is hacked. It might only start out with the stolen card, but escalates with frightening rapidity into complete identity theft. All this with a few clicks of the mouse and you suddenly don’t exist as who you are any longer.

This particular crime is perhaps the most heinous, as it happens in the blink of an eye and is a complex crime getting harder to manage thanks to rapidly advancing technology.

Others areas of white-collar crime are embezzlement, when someone takes your property without consent; bribery; larceny when someone takes another’s property without payment and doesn’t bring it back; extortion (blackmail) and obstruction of justice where a person gets in the way of an investigation. Many people don’t realize that perjury is also a white-collar crime that happens when someone lies under oath in court.

In cases such as the ones mentioned in this article, hiring an attorney familiar with handling white-collar crime cases will help mitigate the extent of the possible punishment meted out after trial. Don’t attempt to represent yourself in instances like this. It’s like that saying, “He who has himself for a lawyer is a fool.”

There are many ways for a clever prosecutor to charge a person with murder, whether or not he was actually the triggerman. In most cases, in order to be guilty of murder, it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant killed the victim with “malice aforethought”. This means that the killer acted with some guilty mental state, such as intent to kill, intent to inflict great bodily harm, or recklessness. However, there is another way for a person to be charged with murder.

Under the felony murder doctrine, anybody who causes a death while committing or attempting to commit a felony is guilty of murder. Whether or not they intended to cause the death is completely irrelevant. Note that when the police are in hot pursuit of the felon, even after the crime has been committed, the crime is deemed to be in progress, for the purposes of the felony murder doctrine. So, if somebody has just robbed a bank, and is running from the police, and then causes a fatal car accident, they are guilty of murder.

People have even been charged with murder when their partners in crime were justifiably killed. So, if one of the robbers is shot by a security guard while robbing a bank, his accomplices are all guilty of his murder.

This rule dates back to English common law, and it has several justifications. First, and perhaps most importantly, it is meant to discourage people from committing felonies. If a criminal knows that he might be charged with murder if he accidentally causes a death during a robbery, he is going to think twice before robbing someone, or so the reasoning goes.

Some states have tried to mitigate the harsh effects that this rule has. For example, in California, felony murder can only serve as a gateway to a first-degree murder charge when the death results from a felony that is specifically listed in the murder statute. On the list are the crimes generally considered to be the most heinous, such as rape, armed robbery, and arson.

If a death occurs during the commission of any other felony, the defendant is, at most, guilty of second-degree murder, and only if the felony is considered to be inherently dangerous.

What are the consequences of a railway fare evasion, and what impact can it have on your future travel plans and employment prospects? Many people believe that failing to buy a railway ticket and subsequently travelling on a train does not amount to a criminal offense. People who travel regularly often see ticket barriers unmanned at quieter stations and may once make a genuine mistake when in a rush to travel and forget to buy a ticket. When they realise that they got away with it once, they might then try to do it again and again. At some point, however, they will be found not to have bought a ticket. Whilst it may have been true in the past that a ticket operator might turn a blind eye, the train companies have now started to realise the cost of this lost revenue. They have now invested heavily in automatic ticket barriers and will now take each offense of travelling without a ticket very seriously.

In addition to those that travel without a ticket at all, some travellers have been known to fraudulently design their own train tickets. Again, often the belief is that they are doing no harm and if they are caught they will simply be ordered to pay for a genuine season ticket. This is now not the case at all.

Train operators are taking railway fare evasion incredibly seriously. What’s more, a conviction for travelling without a valid train travel ticket is a criminal offense. Not only will a successful prosecution lead to a genuine criminal conviction, as it is a crime of dishonesty.

So What Should You Do?

Obviously the first and most sensible legal advice is always to buy a valid train travel ticket. If you make a genuine mistake and realise you have done so once you are on the train, find a conductor as soon as possible and explain your mistake and ask to pay for a ticket. Do not wait until you arrive at your destination unless there is no conductor on the train. The onus is on you to prove that you have attempted to buy a ticket, not on the train company to prove that you do not have a valid one, so you must make every effort to buy one.

If you have forgotten to do this for any reason and been caught, or you have manufactured your own train ticket, you must seek urgent legal advice. Early discussions and explanations with the train company might avoid a prosecution; If the British Transport Police become involved it is much harder to avoid.

What Are The Consequences Of A Conviction?

If you decide not to engage the help of a specialist solicitor, you may find that you are subsequently convicted of an offense. This is a criminal conviction for dishonesty with very serious consequences.

Employment

The conviction will have to be disclosed on every subsequent application for employment. It never becomes “spent” like a driving offense for say speeding, it will always have to be disclosed. If you apply for a job and are competing against other candidates with similar skills and qualifications as you hold, you may find the conviction for dishonesty weighs heavily against you.

Travel

The conviction will stop you entering certain countries completely. If you are convicted you will not be able to enter Australia or The U.S.A. to name the biggest countries and again this will last indefinitely.

With such serious consequences, the advice is always to ensure that you travel with a valid train ticket. If you find you have not done so, seek expert legal advice urgently.