False Report to Department of Children and Family Services - Be Aware!

A new Illinois law, effective January 1, 2012, makes it a crime for any person who knowingly transmits a false report to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) a crime - and a serious one at that!

If one knowingly makes a false report to the DCFS, that person has committed the offense of disorderly conduct which is a Class 4 Felony, 325 ILCS 5/4 (2011).

I welcome this law. I have encountered too many times in my legal career a parent who abuses the system and makes false (and often repeated) reports to DCFS in an effort to destroy the relationship of a parent and child and to devastate the other parent. From now on, these false reporters are risking serious criminal penalties. A Class 4 felony is punishable by incarceration of not less than 1 year and not more than 3 years, and a fine of up to $25,000 can be assessed against an individual. While a person who is convicted of this crime may be able to get a suspended prison sentence and probation if they have a clean record, a repeat offender likely would not.

Any person who wants to use DCFS as a tool to falsely accuse another parent - or stepparent, or anyone else who stands in relationship with a child - is now playing a high risk game. Outrageous and false reports of abuse can now backfire on the accuser. If you were falsely accused and you believe that there is no way the report could have been made in good faith, you should contact the local authorities and seek a criminal investigation. Even if your accuser is not charged, your accuser will likely be dissuaded by the experience to ever try making a false report against you again.

Of course, mandated reporters such as doctors, nurses, and licensed professional counselors must make a report to DCFS if they have reasonable cause to believe a child known to him or her in their professional or official capacity may be an abused or neglected child. Bear this in mind if you find yourself in the role as a reporter, for this law is a two-way street. For example, if you have not personally witnessed the abuse but have heard a child's outcry, take the child to a mandated reporter. A hospital emergency room is a good place to consider taking a child when abuse is first reported. The facility will get a licensed professional to examine and speak to the child. Let the mandated reporter evaluate the child, and make a determination if there is reasonable cause to believe the child is abused or neglected. The professional will then notify DCFS. Don't take it upon yourself, in the heat of emotion, to assume the risk of making the report.

No one should hesitate to protect a child - but don't forget to protect yourself when doing so. No person should knowingly make a false report to DCFS - and if they do, they ought to be punished. With this new law, they can, and hopefully, will.

The Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd.

Attorney James M. Hagler of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd. ( http://dadsrights.com/ ), is widely-known as a tenacious litigator and to accompany his degrees from Boston University and John Marshall Law School, James Hagler also holds an FAA Airframe and Power Plant License from the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation and retired in 2005 after serving as a Sergeant First Class in a combat unit of the Illinois National Guard

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Identifying The Differences Between Preparing A Forensic Report For A Fraud And A Confiscation

Very often criminal cases need the expertise of a forensic accountant to assist. They analyse and present financial information in a way that a court can readily understand. Frequently their task is to assist the defence lawyers to respond to the allegations being made.

The prosecution often brings a case in a fraud matter such as a tax fraud or a confiscation of assets using the Proceeds of Crime Act legislation following another conviction that involves a large amount of financial data. It is usual for the case summary, or statement of information as it may be called in a confiscation, to be written and presented by persons such as an accredited financial investigator. These are often employed as police officers and may receive training in a number of areas including investigating, interviewing and evidence handling. Some will receive rudimentary accounting instruction but most will not. It is very rare for the prosecution to employ expert accountants to present financial data owing to budgetary constraints. However, this results in the need for the criminal defence to examine the allegations in very great detail as, more often than not, they will include errors and inappropriate conclusions.

In the case of a fraud, it will usually be clear that there is a case to answer. The police will investigate financial losses and in many cases be able to present a modus for the crime that can be readily understood. However, such is the partisan nature of the approach adopted by the regulatory authorities that they will often draw rather zealous or inappropriate conclusions from their evidence. The forensic accountant must consider all aspects of the case and present the information in an independent and unbiased way. Sometimes this can result in the defendant being shown in a more adverse light, but mostly will lead to a tempering of the prosecution's case.

On the other hand the treatment of a confiscation by the authorities can result in the presentation of wholly unreasonable demands for a person to lose all their wealth and suffer lengthy additional prison terms for committing even modest crimes for which they have already received a punishment. The confiscation regime has often been called draconian and presents a much stronger need for a capable forensic accountant to become involved.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 ensured that criminals involved in not only money laundering and drug dealing were targeted, but also any criminal who could be deemed to have enjoyed a criminal lifestyle. Unfortunately, the criterion for a criminal lifestyle are very easily met!

The prosecution continue to use accredited financial investigators to estimate the extent of a person's criminal lifestyle, without the benefit of having to prove matters to within "reasonable doubt" as is usual for criminal matters. What is more, the legislation allows sweeping assumptions to be made, with the onus on the defendant to prove otherwise. This is why the defence is tasked with a difficult job and hence the need for the assistance of forensic accountants.

An expert may therefore be used to clarify the framework of a complex fraud, presenting the evidence in an understandable fashion. It can point to flaws in the allegations being made but can equally present a poorer picture for the defendant. More often than not, in a confiscation matter the expert accountant will reduce the extent that the criminal benefit has been estimated as by the prosecution, pointing out flaws in the approach and mistakes in the calculations.

In both frauds and confiscations there is a strong argument for an increased use of expert forensic accountants. This would mean increased funding for the police and prosecution authorities, but might mean a corresponding reduction in the amount of work that the defence is tasked with, which at the end of the day is also funded from public money.

Mark Jenner provides services as a forensic accountant based in York and throughout the UK. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Certified Fraud Examiner and has a Masters Degree in Fraud Management. He specialises as a criminal defence and tax fraud accountant.

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How to Report Unethical Debt Collection Callers

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) has been around for almost 35 years. The FDCPA is a federal law that applies to every state. In other words, everyone is protected by the FDCPA. Its purposes are to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection, and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. The FDCPA creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the FDCPA. The FDCPA is essentially a laundry list of what debt collects can and cannot do while collecting a debt, as well as things debt collectors must do while collecting a debt.

What Practices Are Off Limits For Debt Collectors?

False statements: They may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt.

For example, they may not:

1. Falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives,
2. Falsely claim that you have committed a crime,
3. Falsely represent that they work for a credit reporting company,
4. Misrepresent the amount of money you owe,
5. Indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they are not, or
6. Indicate that papers they send to you are not legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

1. You will be arrested if you do not pay your debt,
2. They will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so, or
3. Legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal, or if they do not intend to take the action.

They may not:

1. Give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company,
2. Send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it is not, or
3. Use a false company name.

Unfair practices: Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, They may not:

1. Try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt-or your state law-allows the charge,
2. Deposit a post-dated check early, or
3. Take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally.

A debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of the FDCPA is responsible for any actual damages sustained, punitive damages, and statutory damages up to $1,000.00. Plus, the FDCPA has a fee-shift provision. This means, the collection agency pays your attorney's fees and costs.

If a collection agency has harassed you over a debt, whether they called you excessively, threatened you, called you at work despite knowing you cannot receive these type of calls at work, disclosed your debt to a third party, tried to collect a debt from you that you did not owe, or left you a voicemail message without the proper disclosures, contact Agruss Law Firm, LLC, for a free case evaluation. Founding attorney, Michael Agruss, has settled over 1,500 debt collection harassment cases. Now, Agruss Law Firm, LLC, wants to help you, too.

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