Criminal Procedure

Sometimes, money gets tight and people find themselves resorting to extreme measures to keep themselves afloat financially in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

However, anyone who attempts to receive public funds from the state through dishonest means can find themselves facing a fraud against the state charge.

About Fraud Against the State in Tulsa

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is illegal for someone to make a false, fictitious or fraudulent claim for payment of public funds, such as welfare, if they know the claim is false, fictitious or fraudulent.

Anyone accused of fraud against the state can face a felony charge, two years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. (Ok. Stat. Title 21 Sec. 358A, 359)

It is also illegal for anyone seeking employment with the state to make a materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation on an employment application, knowing such statement or representation to be materially false, fictitious or fraudulent.

Anyone found guilty of this crime will face a misdemeanor charge, up to one year in prison and up to $1,000 in fines.

For either crime, “false” means documents wholly or partly fabricated or materially altered.

“Fictitious” means imaginatively created past facts.

“Fraudulent” means a false suggestion of facts or the suppression of the truth brought about through trick, false appearance, or through any other unfair way in order to cheat.

Defending a False Claims Charge

In order for someone to be convicted of a false claim or fraud against the state charge, a prosecutor must prove each of the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt:

First, any person making/presenting/(causing the making/presenting of) a;

Second, false/fictitious/fraudulent claim for payment of money from (the State of Oklahoma)/(any department/ agency of the State of Oklahoma);

Third, known by him/her to be false/fictitious/fraudulent.

It is, therefore, a defense that the claims were not false, fictitious, or fraudulent or that the defendant did not know that the claim was false, fictitious, or fraudulent.

Initial Consultation: Tulsa Felony Defense Attorney

A conviction of false, fictitious or fraudulent claims against the state can carry lengthy prison sentences and fines.

If you or someone you know is faced with this charge, please contact a Tulsa criminal defense attorney to discuss your available legal options.

Simply call our team at the Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm at (918) 256-3400 for a initial, no-hassle, confidential consultation.

If you prefer a Tulsa criminal defense lawyer to call you or reach you by email, then please send us a message.

Sometimes, getting a great deal is too hard to resist. However, sometimes a cheap price may be too good to be true.

If you have encountered someone selling a product for a price that seems like a steal, chances are it might be.

If you are caught purchasing stolen goods in Tulsa, the consequences may be more than you bargained for.

You could end up in jail under law forbidding the possession of stolen property in Oklahoma.

Defining Possession of Stolen Property in Oklahoma

Before you purchase that dirt cheap iPad (or other valuable good), you better think twice.

Oklahoma law requires that you make a “reasonable inquiry” before purchasing goods that could have been stolen.

You are required to attempt to determine whether the goods may be lawfully sold or if they were acquired lawfully.

If someone is charged with this crime, the prosecutor will be required to prove that a defendant did not make a reasonable inquiry, which may be a very difficult task.

Receipt of Stolen Goods

Without proof that they made a reasonable inquiry, anyone who purchases stolen goods will be presumed to have known that the goods were stolen.

Those who have reason to know that they have purchased stolen goods can face a $500 fine or up to five years in the state penitentiary.

Initial Consultation: Tulsa Criminal Defense Lawyer

A charge of possession of stolen property in Oklahoma can result in personal inconveniences; financial setbacks and can even impact your work.

If you or someone you know is faced with this charge, please contact a Tulsa criminal defense attorney to discuss your available legal options.

Consult with an experienced attorney at The Wirth Law Office – Tulsa, call 918-913-0725 or toll-free at 1-888-447-7262 (Wirth Law).

If you prefer, you can use the box in the upper right-hand corner of this page to send a question or brief message.

A charge of burglary in Tulsa OK can have serious consequences.

If you’ve been charged with this crime, contact an experienced Tulsa criminal defense attorney to examine your available legal options.

First-Degree Burglary

Anyone caught breaking into another person’s home with the intent to commit a crime by doing any of the following will be charged with first-degree burglary:

1. By forcibly bursting or breaking the wall, or an outer door, window, or shutter of a window of such house or the lock or bolts of such door, or the fastening of such window or shutter; or
2. By breaking in any other manner, being armed with a dangerous weapon or being assisted or aided by one or more confederates then actually present; or
3. By unlocking an outer door by means of false keys or by picking the lock thereof, or by lifting a latch or opening a window, is guilty of burglary in the first degree.

Anyone convicted of first-degree burglary will face between 7 and 20 years in prison.

Second-Degree Burglary

Anyone who breaks and enters any place in which any property is kept will be charged with second-degree burglary.

Alternately, anyone who breaks into or forcibly opens any coin operated or vending machine with the intent to steal any property therein or to commit any felony, is guilty of burglary in the second degree.

A conviction of second-degree burglary will lead to between two and seven years in state prison.

Defending a Charge of Burglary in Tulsa OK

In order to obtain a conviction, a prosecutor must prove that the defendant’s acts met the exact definition of the crime. Your attorney may therefore argue that the act did not meet each of the crime’s definitions.

For example, “breaking” means any act of physical force, however slight, by which obstructions to entering are removed.

Therefore, if someone merely walked into a home with an open door, a strong argument can be made that doing so did not meet the definition of the crime.

Similarly “dwelling” means every house, building, or enclosed structure, any part of which has usually been occupied by any person(s) lodging therein; or any enclosed structure joined to and immediately connected with a house.

Therefore, if someone breaks into a building where people do not live, an attorney may argue that this also was not a burglary.

Finally, a prosecutor must prove that a defendant intended to steal or commit some other crime once inside the home.

If a defendant was inside to do something that was not a crime, he may not be charged with burglary under these circumstances either. OUJI-CR 5-18

Initial Consultation: Tulsa Felony Defense Lawyer

A conviction of a charge of burglary in Tulsa OK can lead to years in jail and severely alter one’s life. However, a guilty conviction is not always easy for a prosecutor to obtain.

If you or someone you know is faced with this charge, consult with an experienced attorney at the Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm today at 918-256-3400, or toll free at 1-888-447-7262 (Wirth Law).

If you prefer, you can use the box in the upper right-hand corner of this page to send a question or brief message.