Fraud / white-collar

The client — no prior record, employed, community-connected — was charged with fraud following a workplace investigation. Full restitution was available at the time of the police contact.

Fraud files carry sharp sentencing exposure and career-ending immigration and licensing consequences on conviction. For first-time accused with the right file characteristics, the direct-accountability programme can be a proportionate resolution.

Whether the Crown would accept a direct-accountability referral for the file — the answer depends on the loss amount, the accused's background, and the availability of restitution.

How to position the pre-trial discussion so the file's diversion candidacy was clear on paper before any Crown position hardened.

Full disclosure review, including any workplace-investigation report and any statement the client had given internally.

Client-facing plan for restitution funded and available at the pre-trial stage.

Written pre-trial position articulating the file's fit with the direct-accountability criteria and the collateral consequences a conviction would trigger.

• Loss threshold and the s. 380 hybrid / indictable split.
• Restitution as a factor at both the resolution and sentencing stages.
• Immigration and licensing collateral — many fraud accused hold status or credentials a conviction would end.
• Direct-accountability programme criteria and the Crown's screening process.

White-collar files often have resolution paths that are invisible to someone who is not looking for them. The path is usually paved with paper — disclosure, restitution, background documentation — filed at the right moment.

Saggi Law Firm handles fraud matters with the collateral consequences in view alongside the criminal case.