With 20 years of criminal defense experience, defending professionals and business owners against fraud, embezzlement, and financial crime charges in Reno and across Northern Nevada
A white collar case rarely begins with handcuffs. It begins with a letter from an auditor, a subpoena for records, a quiet call from an investigator, or the slow realization that someone has been going through your books for months. By the time charges are actually filed, the State has often spent a long time building the case, and the person on the receiving end is frequently a professional or business owner with no criminal history who never imagined being here. Richard P. Davies, Esq. has defended Nevadans against serious felony charges for two decades, and as a Reno white collar crime lawyer he understands both the financial detail these cases turn on and what is at stake for your freedom, your livelihood, and your name.
If you are under investigation for a financial crime, or you have already been charged, the stretch before formal charges is often when a lawyer can do the most good. Records can be preserved, your side can be explained through counsel rather than to an investigator, and in some situations the case can be narrowed or headed off before it is ever filed. Reaching out costs nothing and stays confidential, so the sooner you make the call, the more room there is to work.
The Main White Collar Charges Under Nevada Law
Most white collar cases in Reno are charged under one or more of the statutes below. Because Nevada grades many financial crimes by the dollar amount involved, a single value ladder drives the penalties for several of them. Under that ladder, a loss below $1,200 is a misdemeanor, $1,200 to $5,000 is a category D felony, $5,000 to $25,000 is a category C felony, $25,000 to $100,000 is a category B felony carrying up to ten years, and $100,000 or more is a category B felony carrying up to twenty. Restitution is ordered on top of whatever sentence applies.
Embezzlement
Embezzlement under NRS 205.300 is the taking of money or property that was entrusted to you, typically by an employer, a client, or anyone who placed you in a position of financial trust. Nevada treats it as a form of theft, so the penalty tracks the value ladder above, from a misdemeanor for a small amount up to a category B felony for large sums. These cases often involve bookkeepers, office managers, or employees with access to accounts, and they usually turn on whether the money was actually taken unlawfully or was the result of a misunderstanding, a dispute, or authorized use.
Fraud and Theft by False Pretenses
Obtaining money or property through an intentional misrepresentation falls under NRS 205.380, and broader fraudulent schemes can fall under related fraud statutes. Like embezzlement, this offense is graded by the amount involved, so the same value ladder sets the penalty. Fraud allegations take many shapes in Nevada, including securities fraud, insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, investment fraud, and tax fraud, and several have their own statutes, such as mortgage lending fraud under NRS 205.372. The common thread the State must prove is that you knew a statement was false and intended for someone to rely on it.
Forgery
Forgery under NRS 205.090 covers falsely making or altering a document such as a check, contract, deed, or signature with intent to defraud, as well as passing a document you know to be forged. Unlike the theft offenses, forgery is not graded by value. It is a category D felony, carrying one to four years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000, plus restitution. Whether the document was actually false, and whether you knew it was, are often the heart of the defense.
Bad Checks and Check Fraud
Writing a check when you do not have the funds to cover it, sometimes charged as check fraud, is prosecuted under NRS 205.130. A single bad check under $1,200 is generally a misdemeanor, but checks totaling $1,200 or more within a 90-day period, or a fourth offense after three prior convictions, become a category D felony carrying one to four years and a fine of up to $5,000, plus restitution. Nevada law also gives you a window: if you make the check good within five days of being notified, the law no longer presumes you intended to defraud, which can be decisive.
Credit Card Fraud
Using a credit or debit card, or card information, without authorization, or lying to obtain a card, is charged under NRS 205.760 and is generally a category D felony. These cases frequently overlap with identity theft and online fraud, and they often rise or fall on whether the State can connect the accused to the actual unauthorized use.
Money Laundering
Conducting financial transactions to disguise or make use of the proceeds of felony activity is charged under NRS 207.195, a category C felony carrying one to five years and a fine of up to $10,000. Laundering charges almost never stand alone; they are typically added on top of an underlying offense, which means the defense often starts with the strength of that underlying case.
Bribery and Public Corruption
Offering, giving, or accepting something of value to influence the act of a public official is bribery under NRS 197.020, a category C felony carrying one to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Related provisions reach public officers who solicit or accept a bribe, and similar principles apply to corruption in private business dealings. These cases often come down to whether something of value was actually offered or exchanged in return for an official act, as opposed to a lawful gift, a campaign contribution, or an ordinary business courtesy, a line that is frequently disputed.
Why White Collar Cases Are Different From Other Criminal Charges
These cases are built on paper and data rather than eyewitnesses. The evidence is bank records, ledgers, emails, contracts, and the work of forensic accountants, and it is usually assembled over months through audits and subpoenas before anyone is charged. That same documentary record cuts both ways, because the paper trail the State relies on can just as easily supply the context and explanations its theory leaves out.
The other thing that sets white collar cases apart is that they almost always come down to intent. Moving money, signing a document, or making a representation is rarely a crime by itself. The State has to prove you acted with the intent to defraud, and that is frequently the weakest part of its case. A good-faith belief that you were entitled to the funds, a genuine business dispute, a clerical error, or reliance on someone else's advice can each undercut the intent the prosecution needs.
When a White Collar Case Becomes a Federal Matter
Some financial cases are prosecuted by the federal government rather than the State, usually when the conduct crosses state lines, involves a federally insured bank, or draws in a federal agency. Those cases run on a separate and often harsher framework. Mr. Davies handles matters on both sides of that line, but the large majority of financial crimes in Nevada are charged under the state statutes described above, and that is where this page stays focused.
Consequences That Reach Beyond a Sentence
For many people facing these charges, the criminal penalty is not the only thing at risk. Courts routinely order restitution, and assets tied to the alleged conduct can be frozen or forfeited. A conviction for a crime of dishonesty can trigger review by professional licensing boards in fields like finance, law, real estate, healthcare, and accounting, which can mean the loss of a career built over decades. For non-citizens, fraud offenses are treated as crimes involving moral turpitude and can carry immigration consequences, including removal. If a case resolves favorably, record sealing may eventually clear it from public view, but the threat to a livelihood is often what makes these cases feel so urgent.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nevada White Collar Charges
Sometimes, but not automatically. Prosecutors cannot simply trade a dismissal for repayment, yet restitution and a clean prior record can carry real weight in negotiating a reduced charge or a more favorable resolution. In bad-check cases, paying within the statutory notice window can remove the presumption of intent to defraud entirely. What is realistic depends on the amount, the evidence, and the facts of the case.
In most white collar cases, yes, and that requirement is the defense's biggest opening. Because intent has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, a case can be strong on the paper trail yet weak on the one thing that actually makes the conduct criminal. That is why these cases are so often won on documents that show what you believed at the time, emails, notes, and records that make an innocent explanation credible, rather than on the transaction itself.
It can, and the licensing process runs separately from the criminal case. A board can act on a conviction, and sometimes on a plea or even the underlying conduct, regardless of the sentence a court imposes, which means a deal that looks good in criminal court can still trigger discipline or revocation. Because the two tracks interact, the specific charge a case is resolved to often matters as much as whether there is prison time, and that is worth weighing with your attorney before any plea.
In many cases, yes, after a waiting period that depends on the level of the offense. Charges that are dismissed or end in acquittal can often be sealed right away. Sealing is a separate process worth raising with your attorney once the case is behind you.
How a Reno White Collar Crime Lawyer Builds a Defense
No attorney can promise a particular result, but an experienced white collar crime lawyer builds a financial-case defense by pressing on the element the State most often struggles to prove, which is intent. Richard P. Davies, Esq. works these cases from the moment a client learns of an investigation, not only after charges are filed.
Several lines of defense run through nearly every white collar case. The financial evidence is examined closely, often with the help of forensic accounting, because the State's reconstruction of where money went is not always right. Records gathered through an unlawful search or an overbroad subpoena can be challenged and kept out. And early engagement can open the door to negotiation, including restitution-based resolutions that reduce or reshape the charges. Felony cases in Washoe County are heard in the Second Judicial District Court. Related practice areas include internet and cyber crimes, drug charges, and our full criminal defense services across Reno and Northern Nevada.
What to Do If You Are Under Investigation or Charged in Reno
If a financial case is already taking shape around you, a few early choices can protect you more than almost anything else.
Say nothing, and hand over nothing, until you have a lawyer. Do not sit for an interview, do not walk an investigator through your books, and do not turn over documents or devices on request, even if cooperating feels like the way to make this go away. A short "I'd like to speak with my attorney first" is enough.
Preserve your records, and change nothing. Deleting files, altering ledgers, or shredding documents can become a separate and serious charge, and in financial cases the records usually exist in more than one place anyway. Keep everything intact and let your attorney work from it.
Keep your distance from others in the case. Reaching out to a business partner, an employee, or anyone the investigation may touch can be read as an attempt to influence the case. Let your lawyer manage any contact that needs to happen.
Richard P. Davies, Esq. serves clients in Reno, Sparks, Lake Tahoe, and across Northern Nevada. If you are facing a white collar investigation or charge, call (775) 360-6894 to speak with a Reno white collar crime lawyer and get a clear, honest read on where you stand.