Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Getting stopped and charged with a crime like Long Beach DUI can be a harrowing ordeal. Even if you didn’t cause injuries or property damage -- and even if the evidence ultimately exonerates you -- damage has been done.

The problem goes beyond fear of the punishments and penalties – jail time, massive fines, huge spikes on your insurance rates, etc. It even goes beyond the more subtle “penalties” -- loss of respect from peers and family, logistical problems stemming from loss of your driver’s license, fears about your own judgment and maturity, etc.

Sure, all those things matter. But there is another root problem that’s causing stress.

Here it is: You are attuned to hearing the judgments, guilt, name calling, and diagnoses of others – you accept these labels as “facts” about you.

Before we discuss this in detail, keep in mind that, as any Los Angeles DUI attorney will tell you, if you did drive under the influence in Long Beach, you have problems and obstacles in your path, and you need to approach them correctly and strategically.

On the other hand, it might be helpful to start to translate the judgments and labels of others into what famous psychologist Dr. Marshall Rosenberg termed “feelings and needs.” Often, when people in our lives judge us or call us names, what they are really doing is expressing anger or frustration at their needs not being met.

For instance, say you told your aunt Suzie that you got tagged for driving under the influence in Long Beach. She snaps back something along the lines of “I always knew you'd be a failure” or something similarly hurtful. Now, you can hear her judgment as “the truth.” Or you can look deeper inside it and try to hear her pain and needs. For instance, why might she be in pain? Why might her hearing the news of your DUI spark that anger and judgment? Perhaps she recently had a scary encounter on the roads, and she needs safety. Perhaps she recently learned lost a friend in a DUI accident similar to yours, and she is furious and deeply sad about that.

When you start to listen to her and connect with her on this level, statements as judgmental as “you are the worst person in the world” become translated into things like “I am furious because I really need safety” or “I am enraged and depressed because I recently lost my friend to a DUI driver.” It’s very difficult at first for us to listen to people’s anger and judgments and translate them this way – it takes a ton of practice. But if you’ve recently been insulted or guilted or judged for your DUI, you might find it useful to sit down and really introspect on what that person what was feeling and needing and why.

This is important not just because it helps you humanize the other person but also because it frees you from internal judgments, which can perpetuate negative cycles. If you hear and believe judgments like “you are a criminal who will never get better,” you can internalize that message and act it out. If, on other hand, you hear the feelings and needs behind these criticisms, you may be inspired to grow and change and work to serve life.

As your Los Angeles DUI attorney will tell you, the challenges of being a defendant are immense. But opportunities for learning and growth are there, too. Connect today with the team at the Kraut Law Group in Long Beach for an experienced and confidential consultation. Attorney Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) is a widely respected and highly successful Harvard Law School educated Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney.

Continue reading " Long Beach DUI Blame Game – Part 1: The Judgments of Others " »

In 2008, the Federal Government recouped $2.14 billion from people who committed Southern California Medi-Cal fraud and other similar crimes across the nation. Last year, thanks to a dedicated effort inside the Obama Administration, the Federal Government recouped $4.1 billion -- nearly double the 2008 amount. The number of people charged with fraud across the U.S. also bumped up 75% over the 2008 numbers.

Unsurprisingly, the Obama Administration has been celebrating. Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Service Secretary, blogged about the report: "The Obama Administration is doing more to stop fraud before it happens… Department of Justice officials are tracking fraud scams as they move across the country, so that criminals are spotted when they try to re-enroll into Medicare or Medicaid.”

Good news for tax payers – but what if you’ve been caught up in the dragnet and charged with Southern California Medicare fraud?

Defendants in cases involving Los Angeles credit card fraud, insurance fraud, and identity theft often face a stiff and not very compassionate battle for sympathy and understanding. Given that we're in a tight economy – both nationally and here at home in California – citizens are inclined to deeply resent Medicare scammers.

The Obama Administration released its report on the same day that it rolled out new regulations to control and deal with “self identified overpayments” for Medicare suppliers and providers. Individuals who do not report overpayments could be held in breach of the False Claims Act. Doctors, chiropractors and other caregivers who fail to comply with this new regulation could be hit with serious civil penalties and other punishments.

The Obama Administration is clearly "for real" in its fight against Medicare fraud.

So if you are a defendant, you need to get serious in terms of your preparation. If you have been charged incorrectly or unfairly, don’t expect prosecutors to go easy on you. Start now to compile and execute the powerful defense. Likewise, if you did do something – possibly very wrong – you need to think strategically and clearly about your next actions.

You might feel regretful, scared or even angry. Likewise, you might feel confused and overwhelmed by what's happening to you. But what's past is past. You need to focus right now on the future. That means:

A. Understanding exactly what the charges against you mean and what's likely to happen.

B. Coming up with a very clear outcome that you want to achieve with respect to your charges and potential trial.

C. Obtaining resources to help you connect from A to B.

For experienced help with your Southern California Medicare fraud case, connect with Michael Kraut of Los Angeles’ Kraut Law Group. He is a former prosecutor who has lots of experience with sophisticated Southern California white collar crime cases. Attorney Kraut can provide exceptional representation and extremely strategic thinking for you.

Last week, a man pleaded guilty to a $21 million fraud plot that reads like something out of the annals of Los Angeles Medicare fraud files. And the story did take place in “LA”—but Louisiana, LA, not Los Angeles, LA.

Still, the story is pregnant with lessons for people (and family members of people) who have been recently arrested and charged with crimes like Southern California insurance fraud, Los Angeles credit card fraud, and all other types of Los Angeles white-collar crime.

The accusations are, sadly, typical and mundane. According to the Associated Press, Rodney Taylor, a 45-year-old Louisiana man, recruited state companies to bill Medicare fraudulently for certain pieces of medical equipment. This scam, which persisted from 2004 to 2009, ultimately led to $21 million in fraudulent claims, according to prosecutors.

Taylor apparently obtained prescriptions for equipment from the doctors of Medicare beneficiaries and then sold those prescriptions back to third parties, who then filed false claims to Medicare. It was a convoluted scheme, as most cases of Los Angeles Medicare fraud are. Taylor has pleaded guilty to the conspiracies charges. He could face up to 15 years behind bars. No sentencing date has been set. Among the equipment that he acquired to resell fraudulently included power wheelchairs, accessories for wheelchairs, and arm braces and leg braces. (On top of the jail sentence, he faces a $500,000 fine.)

Bear in mind that Taylor pleaded guilty to just one count of healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy—many Los Angeles Medicare fraud defendants face more diverse and even scarier charges.

Consider all the prosecutorial “fire power” aimed your way—groups as diverse as the FBI, Department of Health and Human Services, California Attorney General’s Office, and the Department of Justice can all collaborate to build a case against you. You need to have a very powerful and an adroit defense.

One of the most-respected and well-versed Los Angeles Medicare fraud attorneys is Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group. Mr. Kraut brings 14-plus years of “working the other side” as a prosecutor to help his clients come to terms with their charges and develop sophisticated and powerful responses to prosecutorial charges.

Home Improvement star Taran Noah Smith’s driving record may need improvement; the 27-year old actor was stopped last Tuesday for driving under the influence in Burbank.

According to news reports, police pulled Smith over near Third Street and Burbank Boulevard early Tuesday morning. The Burbank Leader reports that Smith’s car had been parked, but the vehicle was still running. Police smelled marijuana around the vicinity and found what they believed to drugs in Smith’s 1998 Honda Accord. After being arrested for driving under the influence in Burbank, Smith was booked into a Glendale jail and held on a bail of $10,000. His court date is set for March 1.

Smith is probably best known for his role as the youngest child on Tim Allen’s Home Improvement, which ran from 1991 to 1997. He got his start as a child actor young – at age seven.

Smith’s Burbank DUI arrest highlights several important factors:

• Being a celebrity does not immunize you from getting arrested for marijuana or alcohol-related Burbank DUI. The law is the law, no matter what your station in life or level of celebrity;
• You can still be arrested for Burbank DUI, even if your vehicle is not actively being driven on the road. Consider Smith’s situation – his vehicle was stopped when the police found him (although the motor was running);
• Early mornings and weekend nights are particularly dangerous times for drivers, since the average car is more likely to be driven by someone who is Burbank DUI. This is just pure statistics. People party and/or drink on the weekends and evenings. So if you want to avoid drivers who might be under the influence in Burbank or elsewhere in Southern California, avoid driving during these dangerous times – late at night, Friday and Saturday nights, and national holidays.

How might the arrest redound for Smith’s career? Likely, that question is low on his list of priorities. In fact, a Burbank DUI charge – even a relatively minor one that does not involve injuries or damage – can lead to a cavalcade of penalties, such as not insignificant jail time, California license suspension, mandatory alcohol education classes, forced installation of an IID device in your vehicle (which means you cannot drive unless you blow a sober breath into a machine), annoying court costs and fines, and so forth.

And let’s not forget the indirect costs of Burbank DUI! These can include huge insurance-related problems (which in and of themselves can cost you thousands of dollars over several years) and damage to your professional and personal reputation.

As an experienced Los Angeles DUI lawyer will tell you, it’s no fun to face these charges.

The silver lining (if there is one) is that you do not have to fight this battle on your own. Help and resources abound, if you’re willing to do research, accept strategic guidance, and take responsibility for what’s happened to you. A Los Angeles DUI attorney at the Kraut Law Group can help you make significant progress towards restoring your reputation, blunting the charges against you, and developing a strategic battle plan not just to move beyond this one event but also to get the help and support you need to get your life back on track.

Attorney Kraut is a vastly experienced, highly reputable and compassionate Burbank DUI criminal offense attorney (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810). He also has unique experience, in that he has played for “both sides” – prosecutor and defense attorney. He can leverage his first-hand experience as a prosecutor to help you understand what prosecutors will be planning.

Continue reading " Taran Noah Smith, Home Improvement Star, Hit with Burbank DUI Charge " »