White Collar Crime Lawyer in Conroe and The Woodlands
Most white collar cases start quietly. A detective leaves a business card. An auditor asks for records. A business partner or a family member goes to the police instead of to court. If you need a white collar crime lawyer in Conroe or The Woodlands, you may be in that quiet window right now, and what you do during it often decides whether charges are ever filed.
At Griffin & Cain, Attorneys at Law, we represent business owners, employees, executors, contractors, and professionals accused of fraud, embezzlement, and other financial crimes under Texas law. Senior Attorney Stella A. Stevens spent nine years as a Montgomery County prosecutor, and our firm's business law practice gives us a working knowledge of the transactions behind these cases. Your first consultation is complimentary and confidential.
Common White Collar Charges in Texas
These cases rarely look like crimes to the people involved. They usually look like disputes over money, authority, or paperwork. Texas prosecutes most financial crimes under state law, and the charges we see most often include:
- Embezzlement, which Texas charges as theft when an employee or agent is accused of taking money entrusted to them
- Misapplication of fiduciary property, aimed at executors, trustees, managers, and agents under a power of attorney, where even reckless handling that breaks the governing agreement or law and creates a substantial risk of loss can be charged
- Fraud and forgery, including altered checks, deeds, and contracts
- Credit card abuse and identity theft, with identity theft graded by the number of identifying items involved
- Insurance and health care fraud
- Money laundering
- Construction fund misapplication, when a contractor is accused of diverting money meant for a project
- Financial abuse of an elderly person, often alleged against relatives, caregivers, or advisors
How Dollar Amounts Drive the Charge
Most financial crimes follow the same value ladder as theft charges. Under $2,500 is a misdemeanor, $2,500 to under $30,000 is a state jail felony, and the charge climbs to a first-degree felony, punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison, at $300,000 or more. Amounts taken as part of one scheme can be added together, so a series of small transactions over several years can become a single serious felony. For example, $200 a week over three years adds up to more than $30,000, which is a third-degree felony. For theft, the charge also moves up a level when the alleged victim is elderly or a nonprofit, or when a public servant takes property entrusted to them through a government job.
If You Are Under Investigation
The investigation stage is where a lawyer can do the most good, and where people make the most damaging mistakes.
- If a detective calls, be polite, take their information, and say your lawyer will be in touch. Knowingly lying to a peace officer about something that matters to the investigation is a separate crime.
- If a subpoena or search warrant arrives, preserve everything. Destroying, altering, or hiding records to keep them from being used as evidence is a felony.
- If your employer confronts you, do not sign a confession or a repayment agreement until a lawyer has read it.
- If money or property was seized, call us right away. Forfeiture cases run on their own short deadlines.
Before charges are filed, there is often an opportunity to present records and context to prosecutors that changes how they see the case. Send us a message through the form on this page to start that conversation.
How We Defend Fraud and Embezzlement Cases
Intent. A failed business deal, a bookkeeping error, or a disagreement over what someone was authorized to do is not a crime. The State has to prove intent, and the documents often tell a very different story from the complaint.
Authorization. Many embezzlement accusations involve payments the accused believed were approved, such as bonuses, reimbursements, or owner draws. Emails, text messages, and years of past practice often show that approval.
Civil disputes dressed up as crimes. Partners, relatives, and customers sometimes file criminal complaints to gain leverage in a money dispute. We show prosecutors when a case belongs in civil court.
The numbers. Loss amounts in complaints are often overstated. A careful review of the actual transactions can lower the charge level or undercut the case entirely.
Timing. Texas limits how long the State has to bring charges, and older allegations may be too late to prosecute.
Contractor defenses. Texas construction fund law includes specific defenses, including paying the people owed within 30 days of written notice of a criminal complaint.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges
Financial crimes often surface years after the fact, so the filing deadlines matter:
- Five years for most theft and insurance fraud charges
- Seven years for money laundering, health care fraud, and most fraud offenses, after Texas extended the seven-year period to nearly every Penal Code fraud offense in September 2025
- Ten years for forgery, deed theft and deed fraud, theft from an estate or trust by its executor, guardian, or trustee, and theft of government property by the public servant in charge of it
- Three years for most other felonies, and two years for misdemeanors
Time spent outside Texas generally does not count toward these deadlines.
State Charges, Federal Charges, and Your Assets
Some financial cases overlap with federal crimes such as wire fraud and mail fraud, which carry up to 20 years in federal prison, or 30 years when a bank is affected. Federal cases from Montgomery County are heard in Houston. We focus on Texas state charges and investigations, and we will tell you early if your case looks likely to go federal.
Your assets can be at risk before any conviction. Texas civil forfeiture allows the State to seize money and property connected to certain felonies, including cryptocurrency, and the State must file its forfeiture case within 30 days of a seizure. A conviction is not required for the State to keep the property, so a forfeiture case needs its own defense. A conviction can also cost you a professional license when the offense relates to your work.
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White Collar Myths That Make Cases Worse
- "If I pay it back, it goes away." Texas theft law has no general repayment defense, and a court can order restitution anyway. Repayment can still help, but only as part of a strategy.
- "I can just explain it to the detective." Your explanation becomes evidence, and small inconsistencies become the prosecution's theory.
- "This is just a civil matter." Prosecutors can pursue a criminal case while a civil lawsuit moves forward at the same time.
- "They cannot touch my accounts before a conviction." Civil forfeiture says otherwise.
- "I did not keep any of the money, so it is not a crime." Mishandling money you manage for someone else can be charged even if none of it ended up in your pocket.
White Collar Cases in Montgomery County
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office has a section dedicated to financial crimes, asset forfeiture, and elder abuse, so the same office often handles both the criminal case and the effort to seize assets. Local investigations come from the Sheriff's Office, the county's constable precincts, and state agencies such as the Texas State Securities Board, the Texas Department of Insurance fraud unit, and the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Recent local cases have involved executive embezzlement, forged deeds, investment schemes, and financial exploitation of older adults.
These cases often begin in the business and family world before they reach a courtroom. When an allegation grows out of a partnership, an estate, or a trust, Partner Robert S. Griffin and our probate and estate team can help untangle the documents behind it. If an investigator has contacted you, reach out before you respond.
Frequently Asked Questions About White Collar Charges
Is embezzlement a felony in Texas?
Texas charges embezzlement as theft, so it becomes a felony at $2,500. Amounts from one scheme can be added together, and the charge moves up a level if the alleged victim is elderly or a nonprofit. That is why the total the State claims, and how it was calculated, deserves close review.
How long can prosecutors wait to file fraud charges in Texas?
It depends on the offense. Theft generally has five years, most fraud offenses have seven, and forgery, deed fraud, and theft from an estate or trust by its executor or trustee have ten. Time spent outside Texas usually does not count.
Does paying the money back make charges go away?
Not automatically. There is no general repayment defense to theft, and courts can order restitution anyway. Repayment can still influence how prosecutors resolve a case, which is why it should be handled through your lawyer.
Should I talk to a detective investigating me for fraud?
Not without a lawyer. What you say becomes evidence, and a knowingly false statement can create a separate charge. Your lawyer can decide whether and how to share your side.
Can a contractor be charged with a crime for an unfinished job?
It depends. An unfinished job alone is not a crime, but misapplying $500 or more in construction funds can be, and it becomes a felony when there is intent to defraud. Specific defenses exist, including paying the people owed within 30 days of written notice of a criminal complaint.
Will my case be in state or federal court?
Many financial cases are prosecuted in state court. Some overlap with federal wire or mail fraud, and federal cases from this area are heard in Houston. We will tell you early if your case looks likely to go federal.
Talk to a Conroe White Collar Crime Lawyer Today
A financial crime accusation can threaten your freedom, your business, your license, and your reputation all at once. The earlier you have counsel, the more options you keep, and the better the chance of resolving the matter before it becomes a public court case. Griffin & Cain, Attorneys at Law, represents clients in Conroe, The Woodlands, and throughout Montgomery, Harris, Walker, and Grimes Counties as part of our criminal defense practice, with a former Montgomery County prosecutor on the team.
Contact our Conroe office for a complimentary, confidential consultation. We will review what investigators are asking for, what the documents show, and how to protect you before the case moves further.
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When necessary
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Contact Our Office
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We will provide a complimentary consultation so that you can discuss your issue with us. Get started by calling us or contacting us via email, and we will respond as soon as possible.
Phone:
936-539-1011
Address:
400 W. Davis St., Suite 200. Conroe, TX. 77301