White collar and Internet crimes take all sorts of forms, from sex offenses to wire fraud. A recent case in Los Angeles highlighted just how complicated it can be for a Los Angeles White Collar Defense Attorney to represent someone charged with white collar crimes and Internet crimes at the same time. Federal prosecutors are bringing serious jail time requests against a man who was investigated for tricking people into investing in a fake "start-up" Internet company and evading federal income taxes. They are currently seeking a five year federal prison sentence for Chase Norwood, also known as Thomas Gray. He was convicted in December, 2009 on 15 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. Prosecutors allege that the man solicited peopel to invest in his online companies, including one called Cal Broadband. Norwood also lied to investors, telling them he had licensing agreements as well as business affiliations with large companies in the computer and telecommunications industries. He used investors' funds to support a lavish lifestyle, according to prosecutors, which include part-time residences in top hotels in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. He also used the funds to rent a condo for his mother and to hire several unlicensed brokers and telemarketers. Additionally, a jury found that Norwood evaded his federal income taxes in 2000 and 2001. As you can see, defending someone from a white collar crime, especially white collar crimes prosecuted by the federal government, can be one of the most difficult tasks for any Attorney. White collar crimes often involve charges of wire fraud, tax evasion and other hard to prove and hard to defend allegations. Bank records, mountains of paperwork, emotional testimony by people who feel they were taken advantage of and other highly volatile evidence can be used against anyone accused of such a crime. A Lawyer must investigate the issues, the evidence and the witnesses of such a crime and craft a highly technical defense against the prosecution. An in depth knowledge of the law and an advanced knowledge of federal prosecution tactics are absolutely necessary in order to effectively defend the accused. Tagged as: white collar crime fraud theft laws