Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Statutorily-recognized mitigating factors are among the most powerful tools available to a defendant seeking to argue for a reduced sentence. These factors allow the defendant to claim that certain aspects of his or her alleged criminal activity fits into one or more categories recognized by the State of Tennessee as behavior or circumstances that make an offense less serious than it otherwise would be. One statutorily-recognized mitigating factor is that the offense did not threaten or cause serious bodily injury. Stated another way, one could simply say the crime was one of non-violence.

It is not difficult to deduce the reasoning behind the recognition of non-violence as a mitigating factor. Offenses are clearly more serious where they endanger someone’s life, put someone at risk of harm, or actually injure or kill a victim. Tennessee thus allows a defendant to use the fact that he or she did not injure, or pose the risk of injury to, a victim during the commission of the criminal activity in question.

Continue reading "Mitigating Factors: Non-Violence" »

When a person is convicted of a crime and proceeds to the sentencing phase, the judge will begin to determine the sentence by looking at the applicable statutory sentencing range as a starting point. The judge will then proceed by applying enhancement or mitigating factors to increase or decrease the sentence as warranted. Tennessee law enumerates several enhancement factors that can be used to increase a defendant’s sentence if the factor is not an essential element of the offense. A simple way to look at enhancement factors is that they tend to be anything that makes the commission of the crime more offensive to the victims or to the public at large.

Tenn. Code Ann. Section 40-35-114 contains a list of enhancement factors in Tennessee, one of which is particularly relevant to this discussion. Tenn. Code. Ann. Section 40-35-114(14) states that an enhancement is warranted where: [t]he defendant abused a position of public or private trust, or used a professional license in a manner that significantly facilitated the commission or the fulfillment of the offense.” This enhancement factor will typically be used to increase the sentences of people, such as certain government officials and doctors, who abuse positions in which the public places a higher degree of trust. However, the factor can apply to any person who occupies a position in which the public or a private individual places its trust. Illustrative of this point is a recent case decided by the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals, where a judge at the trial court level applied this enhancement factor to a mail carrier.

Although not a profession often thought of when the term “position of trust” is discussed, a mail carrier is responsible for delivering sensitive information and important packages to citizens in the same condition in which it was sent. One such mail carrier, Mr. Bradley, was suspected of abusing his position after a police informant tipped off investigators that he was stealing drugs through the mail. The police then proceeded to set up Mr. Bradley by getting a police informant to arrange to sell narcotics to Mr. Bradley in person, and arrested him for his drug offense at the arranged meeting. Mr. Bradley pled guilty to possession of a controlled Schedule III substance with intent to sell, and received a four-year sentence, which he contended was excessive.

Continue reading "Enhancement Factor: Position of Trust" »

Recently, an ex-official of a county government in Tennessee was accused of forgery and fabricating receipts during an official investigation into county expenditures. Since many news sources only name the crimes for which a suspect has been charged, this blog entry briefly outlines the substantive law applicable to these white collar crimes.

Forgery - Under T.C.A. § 39-14-114, a person commits a Class E felony if he or she forged a “writing” and did so with the intent to defraud or harm another. A common scheme occurs when an employee uses a company credit card or account for personal expenditures and then creates fake receipts to make it look like the expenditures were used for company purposes.

Fabricating Evidence - A more serious crime, under T.C.A. § 39-16-503, a person commits a Class C felony if he or she alters a record with intent to impair the truthfulness of the record while an investigation or proceeding is taking place. Using the example above, a person would commit this crime if the company was currently under an official audit and, the defendant, with knowledge that the audit was taking place and with intent to prevent the audit from targeting him or her, forged the receipts.

To learn more about white collar crimes , please visit the Baker Associates Tennessee criminal defense website.

Health care fraud, particularly medical identity theft, is on the rise. According to estimates from a federal report for 2007, more than 250,000 Americans were victims of medical identity theft.

Health care fraud in Tennessee is diverse and complex and targets both the public and private sectors. Healthcare fraud includes:

• Medical identity theft,


• Billing for services not rendered,


• Billing for services, which are not medically necessary,


• Receiving or offering kickbacks for patient referrals,


• Knowingly delegating responsibilities to untrained, unlicensed personnel,


• Double billing for medical services, and


• Fraudulent cost reporting by providers.

Both state and federal law enforcement agencies investigate health care fraud. Some of these agencies include local law enforcement agencies, the Tennessee Bureau of the Investigation, FBI, FDA, and the Justice Department.

Continue reading "Elements of Health Care Fraud and Medical Identity Theft" »

Credit card fraud in Tennessee has jumped by 38 percent over the last three years, according to a report released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Fraud typically begins with theft of the card or some compromising of data associated with the card account (such as the account number). A common example of the latter is when a store clerk copies sales receipts for later use. The increased use of credit card numbers over the Internet has also made security lapses more common.

In Tennessee, if a person obtains property or services as a result of unlawful possession or fraudulent use of a credit card, he or she will be charged with a felony. Possession of a credit card is a Tennessee white collar offense if a person knowingly possesses the card or uses information from the card without the consent of the owner or issuer.

A person commits fraudulent use when he or she uses the card without the consent of the owner or issuer for the purpose of obtaining property or services. Fraudulent use of a card is punishable as theft, and the punishment varies depending on the value of the property or services unlawfully obtained.

If you have been charged with credit card fraud or unlawful possession of a credit or debit card in Tennessee, you will want a skilled and experienced Knoxville criminal law attorney who has the resources and knowledge to defend your rights. The skilled criminal defense attorneys at Baker Associates will fight for you. For help with your criminal case, call 866-853-2888 today.

With the number of bankruptcy petitions skyrocketing, there is bound to be an increase in the number of individuals charged with bankruptcy crimes in Tennessee. For the most part, statutes pertaining to bankruptcy crimes are found in sections 151 through 157 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. This blog article outlines some of the key features of the federal bankruptcy crime laws applicable to persons in Tennessee.

Section 152 overlaps the state crime of fraud in insolvency. Under T.C.A. 39-14-117, conduct that generally interferes with the fair administration of the bankruptcy estate is prohibited. Section 152 overlaps the statute, concentrating on the concealment of assets, false oaths, extortion in connection with a bankruptcy petition, and bribery in Tennessee.

Section 153 makes it a crime for a bankruptcy trustee to embezzle assets from the bankruptcy estate. If guilty, the trustee faces a penalty of up to five years and a sizable fine. Furthermore, under section 154, a trustee or officer who purchases any property from the estate is subject to termination and a fine. It is also an offense under this section to deny any interested party a reasonable opportunity to inspect documents.

Section 155 affects parties in interest—whether it is the debtor or a creditor of the debtor—who knowingly and fraudulently agrees with another party in interest to the fixing of a fee or other compensation from the assets of the estate. Violation of this statute is punishable by imprisonment of up to a year and a fine.

Section 156 penalizes a petition preparer if the petition is subsequently dismissed because of a knowing attempt by the preparer to disregard the bankruptcy statutes and rules. Persons subject to this provision do not include the debtor’s attorney or employee of the attorney. If guilty, the accused faces a year of prison and a possible fine.

Finally, section 157 is a newer provision of the bankruptcy crime laws and authorizes a penalty of up to five years and a fine for anyone found guilty of devising a scheme to defraud creditors through the filing of a bankruptcy petition, document or making any other false or fraudulent representation relating to the bankruptcy proceeding.

As you can see, the penalties for bankruptcy crimes can be quite severe. Thus, you will want the skill of an experienced Knoxville criminal defense attorney preparing your defense and fighting for your rights under the law. If charged with a Tennessee bankruptcy crime, call the criminal defense attorneys at Baker Associates today for a comprehensive evaluation.

Tennessee white-collar criminal defense attorneys represent clients in investigations by state or federal grand juries, administrative agencies, criminal enforcement proceedings, trials, and related complex civil litigation matters.

White-collar crime is a broad term that covers a variety of nonviolent crimes. Most of these crimes are alleged to involve cheating or dishonesty in some form or another. Examples of white-collar crime include money laundering, insider trading, criminal RICO, fraud, environmental crimes, bribery, embezzlement, forgery, price fixing, perjury, tax evasion, and kickbacks.

Most White-collar offenses are federal crimes. If personnel from one or more of the following federal agencies have questioned you, you may be under investigation for a white-collar crime:

• The Securities and Exchange Commission
• The United States Postal Service
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation
• The United States Treasury
• The Internal Revenue Service
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service

Tennessee white-collar defense lawyers attempt to resolve allegations during the investigatory phase. If criminal charges are brought, our criminal defense attorneys have extensive litigation and trial experience in both Tennessee and US federal courts. If you are under investigation, or are being charged with a white collar crime, contact a Tennessee white-collar defense attorney. All initial consultations are free of charge.