A theft charge in Southwest Riverside County can carry far more exposure than the underlying offense suggests. California law provides multiple categories of sentence enhancements — based on property value, weapons, injury, prior convictions, and the Three Strikes framework — that can transform a misdemeanor petty theft into felony exposure, and a felony grand theft…
Theft and burglary cases in Riverside County are won and lost on witness testimony. Most theft cases involve no physical evidence connecting the defendant to the offense beyond what a person — an alleged victim, an eyewitness, an investigating officer, or sometimes a co-defendant — says happened. Where the testimony is strong and the cross-examination…
In California, the line between petty theft and grand theft is not just a difference in degree — it is a difference in kind. Petty theft is a misdemeanor in most circumstances and carries up to six months in county jail. Grand theft is a wobbler that can be charged as a felony, with state…
If you’re facing grand theft charges in California under Penal Code 487(a), it’s essential to take immediate action to defend yourself. Grand theft, defined as the unlawful taking of property valued over $950, is a serious offense that carries severe penalties, including the possibility of felony charges and state prison time. The sooner you secure…
Robbery is a serious crime in California, and those accused of it face serious consequences. If you’ve been accused of robbery in Riverside County, it’s important to know what you’re up against and how to protect yourself. A Riverside County criminal defense lawyer from the Law Office of Nicolai Cocis can provide you with the…
Earlier last month, two brothers who owned a textile company in Los Angeles were sentenced to prison terms of 18 months for one brother and 2 years for the other. The brothers were found guilty of laundering $370,000 through their company for a drug cartel. The “cartel” was actually part of an undercover sting operation…
Imagine a vehicle reported as stolen is found burned, totaled, or damaged and the insurance company suspects fraud. Similar scenarios happen more often that you might think, leaving you facing a sizable financial loss, and maybe even criminal charges. So how does this happen and what can you do? What insurance adjusters look for: According…
You may have heard the term embezzlement before, but what exactly does this word mean? The term embezzlement is defined in Penal Code 503 as “…the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted.” For example, let’s say David was the person in charge of the cash register at the…
Late last year, two Southern California residents pleaded guilty to grand theft, embezzlement and fraud charges in a billing scheme that resulted in $6.6 million illegally billed to Medicare. Previously, three others associated with the scheme also pleaded guilty. ‘Quality Improvement Coordinator’ pleads guilty… In the first instance, an employee of Mauran Ambulance, who was…
According to a recent article from Valley News, a man was arrested outside of a Lake Elsinore Lowe’s Home Improvement store after authorities say that he tried to cash a stolen check. The police were notified that the man had entered the store, attempted to cash the check, and then left the location, the article…
Recently, CBS News published an article on their website about a California man who had a $10,000 watch stolen from him. For a year afterwards, he regularly looked through eBay and other sites in the hopes of spotting it. On the day he found it, he notified police, who wound up making an arrest after…
Many people assume that credit card fraud only happens among strangers. Someone gets a hold of another person’s information and opens one or more credit cards by forging his or her signature. The defrauded person has no idea this happened until he or she receive a bill in the mail. In tough economic times, people…
If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges in Southwest Riverside County, time is critical. Contact the Law Office of Nic Cocis today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
