Year: 2012

There are crimes that most people don’t even think of or fear unless they end up directly involved. Bribery isn’t something you can see or feel, but it can have devastating effects that can land either the defendant or their victim in jail for years.

The State of California doesn’t take this crime as lightly. Even though each specific county can enforce bail and carry out the sentence of someone charged with bribery, it is California that decides what constitutes the crime and the punishments that are required by law.

What is Bribery?

California Penal Codes 92 through 95 directly deal with bribery. Anyone who makes or receives any offer of advantage or value with the intent that the offer is made to unlawfully influence a person’s action, opinion or vote in any official or public capacity has committed bribery. This means a person is guilty of the crime whether they are the one making or receiving the offer. Even if the exchange of advantage or value doesn’t occur, the mere agreement to or offer of the bribe constitutes bribery.

The statutes refer to bribes made to public officials who include police chiefs, judges, police officers, senators, councilmen and several other people in trusted positions. Even in instances where an official doesn’t technically have authority over a specific decision, bribery can still occur if the official or person making the offer to the official believed that the officer was working within their official capacity and had the ability to influence a specific decision.

It is not necessary for a bribe to be accepted, in California law, for the crime to have occurred. If a person attempts to bribe a public official or, conversely if a public official requests a bribe and the other party refuses, the culpable party is still guilty of bribery and can be punished as if the ‘deal’ had actually gone through.

Bail Amounts

Each California county has the authority to set its own bail amounts. They do this via their bail schedule, which sets forth preset bail amounts for specific crimes. The bail schedule allows a person to get out of jail within a few hours, and by contacting your closest Bail Hotline, an experienced agent can post your bond for as little as 10% of the face amount.

Though these bail preset amounts usually vary between counties, they are strikingly similar when it comes to bribery. In Santa Clara, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties the crime of bribery involving councilmen, supervisors or other similar officials brings a $25,000 bail amount. Monterey County’s bail amount differs from these three, coming in at $20,000 dollars, and there are even a few types of bribery in this county for which bail may be as little as $10,000.

Penalties and Consequences

Bribery in instances that include marriages and appointments to certain lower offices are usually treated as misdemeanors – and thus only bring a maximum of one year in jail – but the greater majority of bribery crimes are considered felonies. In cases of felony bribery a person will face between two and four years in a state prison.

If a bribe didn’t change hands then a person will face a fine of two to ten thousand dollars. If the advantage or object of value actually did change hands, then the fine will be at least two thousand dollars and could go up to double the amount of the actual bribe. Public officials are also required to permanently relinquish their office.
Bribery is taken very seriously in California. The crime flies right in the face of the systems that are created to ensure fairness within society, and when people decide to violate these rules they are punished to the fullest extent of the law. There are some very legitimate defenses to a bribery charge, but usually only an experienced attorney can convince a judge or jury of these facts. 

While not all crimes in California are considered especially serious offenses that require the possibility of prison time, all crimes are capable of landing you in jail. One crime that is considered serious, yet never worthy of being called a felony, is running a lottery. Individuals are not allowed to have lotteries within the state.

There are some exceptions to the rules, but California doesn’t define these exceptions as ‘lotteries.’ The important thing for anyone accused of this crime to do is to get a lawyer. An experienced attorney can explain to a judge that what the State thought was an illegal lottery was likely a perfectly legitimate raffle.

Law Related to Lotteries

California law defines a lottery as a scheme meant to dispose of, or distribute property or money by chance, between people who have provided some sort of payment or promise thereof in order to be considered for a chance of winning the said property. It is also deemed a lottery if ‘winners’ receive some portion of the aforementioned property. These games of chance can also be referred to as raffles and gift enterprises, but any event by another name that meets these criteria is still considered a lottery.

This law also applies to people who prepare, host, set up or even propose that such a lottery be held. Even aiding in the printing of lottery tickets can end with a person being arrested, and they can also be arrested for insuring or receiving insurance for these lotteries. Distributing tickets or setting up a location to hold such a lottery are also considered misdemeanors.

This law doesn’t make every type of raffle illegal, however. The State of California realizes that certain organizations (senior communities, non-profits, etc.) use raffles to fund necessary endeavors. The law usually requires that the majority of the profits earned from these raffles go to charitable means. These raffles, however, cannot just be held on a whim. The organization seeking to hold the event must obtain administrative approval and also register annually with the Justice Department.

Bail for Lottery Activities

Bail amounts vary for every crime in the State of California. This is because each county makes its own bail schedule, which presets specific bail amounts for a crime that has been committed. If you have been accused of any crime related to the aforementioned lotteries, simply contact your closest Bail Hotline office to help post your bail, for just 10% of the total face amount required. Few counties even mention lotteries in their bail schedule, as it is considered a very low cost bail; of course, a thousand dollars can be a really large amount when you don’t have it.

Santa Clara County is one of the few counties that do mention the crime, and it only sets bail at $1000. All other schedules have a table for crimes that aren’t listed in the schedule, based on the amount of jail time a person can receive. These tables usually end up assigning those accused of lottery offenses around the same amount of bail s Santa Clara.

Penalties and Consequences

Lotteries are definitely not considered too serious – mostly due to the fact that they’re not felonies. The commission of the crime can still bring some harsh consequences, especially considering the fact that an otherwise perfectly legal raffle can become illegal if the proper paperwork isn’t filed. Anyone convicted of any of the aforementioned activities is guilty of a misdemeanor. That said, these crimes can land a person in jail for up to a year. The proceedings from the lottery are also confiscated and become property of the State of California.

When looking at some of the serious crimes that occur in California, a person may think that holding a lottery isn’t that big of a deal. Unfortunately, this crime can still land a person in jail. Remember, the only difference between a legal raffle and an illegal lottery is paperwork. If a lawyer can convince a judge that the crime committed was simply an oversight, then a defendant will have a much better chance of escaping jail time.

Almost everyone has seen a movie where the owner of a certain establishment attempts to burn down their building in order to receive an insurance payout. What many people don’t realize, however, is that these types of things really do happen every day; and as such, are one of the most obvious types of insurance fraud.

California defines several instances that constitute insurance fraud and lays out the penalties that counties must abide by when enforcing sentences. Anyone accused of insurance fraud faces severe consequences, so it is in their best interest to secure a lawyer as soon as possible.

What Constitutes Insurance Fraud?

California PC 548-550 outlines the many definitions and rules regarding the possible charges of insurance fraud. The first mention of insurance fraud is when a person willfully damages or destroys some form of property that is insured, with the express purpose of gaining an insurance payoff. The law goes on to mention a long list of crimes that include falsely filing a claim, filing multiple claims for one event, participating in a car accident that was expressly planned for insurance fraud and knowingly preparing a false claim. The rules against filing and preparing fraudulent or multiple claims also apply to medical insurance coverage.

The law also states that it is illegal to withhold information from an insurance company that would affect a person’s eligibility. Making an oral or written statement that is false with the intent that it is to be reviewed by an insurance company is also an offense. It is also illegal for a company or partnership to refer, solicit or accept any business from an entity that the company knows has participated or intends to participate in any of the fraudulent insurance activities previously mentioned.

Bail Amounts

Insurance fraud is a bailable offense and is included in all California county bail schedules. These schedules can be used to secure a person’s release within a few hours of arrest. Some counties have bail amounts that are the same. Santa Barbara and Los Angeles Counties, for instance, both set bail for insurance fraud at twenty-five thousand dollars. If the amount of money stolen is higher than twenty-five thousand dollars, then the bail amount will be equivalent to the amount stolen. Santa Clara County, on the other hand, only sets its bail at ten thousand dollars. Bail across the state of California varies, so a quick call to your closest Bail Hotline office will assure you of the preset bail for your specific charges, as well as a near immediate release at just a fraction of the total bail amount.

Penalties and Consequences

The additional penalties related to insurance fraud can vary as much as the bail amounts between counties. A person who willfully destroys property for insurance gain, for instance, can face up to five years in prison and a fine of fifty thousand dollars. A person with a prior conviction, however, will face far more severe consequences; each prior conviction will bring a sentence enhancement of two years added to a person’s initial sentence.

A person who files or prepares a fraudulent insurance document, or participates in intentionally crashing a car for insurance purposes, also faces a five-year sentence and a fifty thousand dollar fine. Filing a false claim regarding health insurance, however, only brings the possibility of one year in jail.

Making false written or oral statements in an effort to defraud an insurance company is another instance that can bring five years in prison. Many of these crimes also involve other sentence enhancements of more than two years, if prior convictions exist. Even knowingly referring or accepting the business of a person that participates in insurance fraud can bring up to a year in county jail.

Insurance fraud is considered a very serious offense in the State of California. In most instances it is treated as a felony and punishable by excessive fines and at least half a decade in state prison. Even though insurance fraud is not a violent crime, it will land a person in prison with hundreds of violent offenders. Anyone accused of insurance fraud definitely will want an experienced lawyer on their side.