According to a January 2013 press release issued by the State of Florida's CFO and the 1st Judicial Circuit State Attorney's office, a Panama City contractor was recently arrested for the alleged misappropriation of more than half a million dollars in state funds. J.D.M., the owner of Del Monte Construction Inc., apparently received in excess of $2.2 million dollars (funding provided by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection) as part of his contract with the state to build a series of rental cabins at the Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. Although the contract was completed between 2008 and 2009, grievances filed by contractors and subcontractors who worked on the cabins, lead to a recent investigation and the arrest of J.D.M. for felony white collar crimes and grand theft of more than $100,000, for the misappropriation of $506,855.18 that should have gone to 18 different contractors. The investigation revealed that during the project, Del Monte falsified records and submitted fraudulent reports in order to receive payments for completed work.
White collar crimes such as embezzlement, insider trading, extortion, commercial fraud, credit card fraud, forgery, and identity theft, are all considered to be non-violent "paper crimes", as compared to more physical or violent crimes. This does not mean white collar crimes are treated any less seriously, particularly when a government unit or agency has been defrauded. If you or a loved one has been arrested and charged with a white collar crime, we advise you contact our firm and consult with a skilled Panama City criminal defense lawyer right away.
As our founding attorney is a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida, whose primary focus was on economic crimes, our firm has an in-depth understanding on how the prosecution will present your case. Our insight and perspective allows us to work within the system to fight for any possible advantage in criminal accusations related to financial crimes.
If you are under investigation by the authorities, or have been accused of committing a white collar crime, contact our criminal defense attorney at Seaton Law Offices, P.A. immediately.