Virginia Beach Fraud Penalties

Fraud is taken very seriously in Virginia Beach. Most fraud charges are considered felonies that are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Virginia Beach fraud charges are considered Class 5 felonies, and identity theft charges may be handled a little differently depending on the case.

Fraud charges can cover a variety of offenses. In order to best mitigate the Virginia Beach fraud penalties you may face, you should contact a seasoned fraud lawyer. A Virginia Beach fraud lawyer can advise you towards a desirable outcome based on the facts of your specific case.

Determining Penalties

The fraud penalties for Virginia Beach cases can depend on the value of the item used for fraud. If the item used for fraud is less than $200 on some charges like credit card fraud the charge will be considered a misdemeanor. If the item used for fraud is $200 or more, it is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in jail. Most of the fraud charges, though, are Class 5 felonies with one to 10 years.

Fraud penalties in Virginia Beach are considered Class 5 instead of Class 1 or 2 penalties. The risk people run for fraud penalties is that it could be 10 with one charge. In one instance, an individual ‘s fraud penalties can be at five or six felonies if it is a situation where those felonies can stack on top of each other and if it went badly in the trial, they could potentially be staring at many years of jail time.

Considering Plea Deals

It is very likely that an individual facing Virginia Beach fraud penalties may get a plea deal offer in a fraud penalty case. These are fraud penalty cases where prosecutors will want to work them out. There is often a lot of paperwork in Virginia fraud penalty cases and a lot of civilian witnesses that do not want to come to court. In fraud penalty cases, the prosecution wants the alleged victim to be made whole often financially.

In a situation where an individual is able to pay restitution and they are able to undo any damage caused, then they are going to be willing to work out a plea deal. Fraud penalty charges are not like an assault charge where an individual has caused somebody physical harm because damages can not be paid if the individual is in jail. They are more willing to work out deals on fraud penalty cases than they are cases where there are physical injuries.

Usually, there is no element of violence or threaten to harm in Virginia Beach fraud penalty cases. Most of the time on these, all the individual really wants is their money back and if they can get their money back, they are going to be satisfied and the prosecutor is going to be satisfied. The more money involved, the less likely there is going to be a plea deal. Fraud penalty cases depend on the number of charges and the weight of the evidence they might have. In most of the fraud penalty cases, it is not an extreme amount of money and they are going to be willing to work out a deal.

Conviction for Fraud

Fraud penalty convictions can range from four months in jail to up to 10 years in prison on certain charges like misdemeanor identity theft. Most of the time, on an individual’s first offense, they will not recommend any jail time or a lengthy sentence but if an individual has a history of this, then a second offense could lead to substantial time.

If it is shown that an individual did not learn their lesson from the first fraud penalty offense, then an individual charged with fraud could get hammered on a second go-around. It is not shocking to see somebody get a year on a first offense fraud penalty, depending on how many charges there were and how much money was involved in the fraud penalty case.

Restitution and Damages

Restitution is money owed to make the victim whole. If an individual used somebody’s credit card to charge a thousand dollars’ worth of something on it, they owe about a thousand dollars back. If they want to go that route, they have to pursue the fraud penalty case as a civil lawsuit. In criminal fraud penalty cases, the focus will be on the actual harm done. The individual would owe any restitution for fraud in terms of property or money lost. If there were damages done to the other person’s reputation, the individual would have to pursue a civil lawsuit for the fraud charges, which is a separate proceeding. Virginia Beach fraud penalties are different for every case so it is recommended that an individual charged speak with a fraud lawyer about their case early on.