Newport Beach Criminal Defense Blog

Weapon use in a crime carries additional penalties

On behalf of Law Offices of Mark W. Fredrick posted in violent crimes on Thursday, May 16, 2019.

California law calls for strict punishments against those who commit violent crimes. Even with no aggravating circumstances, a Newport Beach resident who gets convicted of a felony may face years or even decades in prison as well as stiff fines. For those who get lucky enough to avoid jail, the terms of probation can be burdensome and very expensive.

Like other states, California also imposes additional punishments when a person is accused of committing a felony under circumstances that lawmakers believe make the crime more serious. One of the more common sentencing enhancements that prosecutors in this state use is an enhancement for those who use a gun, or even have a firearm on them, while they commit a felony.

Domestic assault is a serious offense

On behalf of Law Offices of Mark W. Fredrick posted in criminal defense on Friday, May 3, 2019.

Legally, like other battery charges, so-called domestic battery, which may be referred to as domestic assault, is a misdemeanor offense in California, assuming of course there are no other aggravating circumstances.

However, this does not make domestic battery a minor offense by any stretch of the imagination. Even someone who otherwise has a clean criminal history should take a charge of domestic battery very seriously.

Considerations re serious criminal drug charges in California

On behalf of Law Offices of Mark W. Fredrick posted in drug trafficking on Friday, April 26, 2019.

Legions of people in states across the country view California as being a liberal bastion concerning virtually all things. As such, it is hardly surprising that many individuals would expect the state’s drug laws to be comparatively lenient, with criminal law authorities not being routinely ruthless in their pursuit of unlawful drug activity.

This is a mistaken assumption.

Celebrity attorney faces gamete of federal charges

On behalf of Law Offices of Mark W. Fredrick posted in white collar crimes on Friday, April 19, 2019.

Michael Avenatti, perhaps Newport Beach's most well-known attorney, is now looking at a maximum sentence of over 300 years in prison based on a 36-count federal indictment from a grand jury seated in California. The indictment alleges Mr. Avenatti committed a variety of white collar crimes. For his part, Mr. Avenatti, through his attorney, denied the charges and indicated that he looks forward to his day in court.

The indictment includes allegations that Mr. Avenatti engaged in tax fraud and also committed other financial crimes. In essence, the accusation is that Mr. Avenatti diverted millions from clients who were expecting him to hold their money in trust. Mr. Avenatti received some of the money from settlement proceeds that he allegedly did not tell his clients about but used for personal expenditures instead.

What is a Ponzi scheme?

On behalf of Law Offices of Mark W. Fredrick posted in white collar crimes on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

Residents of Newport Beach, California, who follow the news have probably heard about Ponzi schemes. Many of these white collar crimes make the national news, particularly when the amount of money involved is in the millions of dollars and charges get filed in federal court.

To explain a Ponzi scheme further, it starts with the organizer of the scheme making promises to would-be investors that if they choose to invest money with the organizer, than they will get a high rate of return on their dollars. The organizer in turn is able to take a cut of the investors' money.

Are you under investigation for an embezzlement conspiracy?

On behalf of Law Offices of Mark W. Fredrick on Wednesday, April 3, 2019.

Let us say you work for a profitable Orange County software developer. Money is disappearing and investigators are beginning to look into a possible embezzlement scheme.

You are on the list of suspects. What should you do?

Introduction to California's Three Strikes law

On behalf of Law Offices of Mark W. Fredrick posted in felonies on Thursday, March 21, 2019.

In California, any felony charge is potentially very serious. A Newport Beach resident convicted of a felony could wind up spending months or even years in prison, depending of course on the nature of the charge. Additionally, fines, strict terms of probation and other penalties may apply. Finally, someone convicted of a felony could well spend a lifetime re-building her professional and personal reputation.

This state's Three Strikes law can raise the stakes of a felony charge even higher. Although this famous, or infamous, law has been tempered in recent years, it still can land a person in a prison for the rest of his life.