Practice Area
Fraud, embezzlement, and public-official charges can end a career before a case ever reaches trial. The earlier a lawyer is involved, the more of the outcome is still open.
Both of our founding partners started their careers as prosecutors. Before co-founding Smith & Weidinger, Bradley Smith served as a Deputy District Attorney in Mesa County and as a Denver Assistant City Attorney. We know how prosecutors decide whether a business dispute or an accounting problem becomes a criminal case, and what it takes to change their minds.
We defend white collar charges from our offices in Denver (1040 S. Gaylord St.) and Colorado Springs (415 N. Tejon St.), and in courts across Colorado. We’ve resolved a class 3 felony theft in Denver with probation and no jail, reduced felony theft charges in Jefferson County to a deferred judgment with no jail time, and had an official misconduct charge against a public employee dismissed in Lincoln County. You’ll work directly with the lawyer handling your case, not a call center.
Most white collar charges are graded by the amount of money involved, and many are felonies from the start.
Corrections officers, probation officers, police officers, deputies, and other public employees can be prosecuted for conduct tied to their jobs. First-degree official misconduct means knowingly acting outside your authority, failing to perform a duty, or breaking a rule of your office to gain a benefit or to harm someone, and it’s a class 1 misdemeanor. Embezzlement of public property is a class 5 felony, and a conviction permanently disqualifies you from public office in Colorado. Bribery is a class 3 felony.
Perjury, lying under oath in an official proceeding, is a class 4 felony. A false sworn statement outside a proceeding, meant to mislead a public official, is second-degree perjury, a class 2 misdemeanor. That charge sometimes comes up with firearm purchase and concealed carry applications. These cases can end a career even without a conviction, so bring in a lawyer early, during the internal investigation if you can.
White collar cases usually start long before an arrest, with a records request, a subpoena, a call from an investigator, or a target letter. What you say and hand over at that stage can decide whether charges are filed at all. Talk to a lawyer before you answer questions or produce documents, and don’t delete anything.
Colorado’s general deadline to file charges is three years for a felony and 18 months for a misdemeanor. But for theft, identity theft, criminal impersonation, insurance fraud, bribery, official misconduct, perjury, and racketeering, the clock starts when the offense is discovered, not when it happened. Securities fraud has its own five-year limit, and for forgery there’s no deadline at all.
Colorado criminal defense
What you say to an investigator, an auditor, or your employer can become the case. Get a confidential consultation with a Colorado defense attorney. Not a screener.
Your information stays private.
Not a call center.
We know both sides.
Your criminal defense attorney
Bradley E. Smith
Founding Partner
Criminal Defense Attorney
Former Deputy District Attorney in Mesa County and Denver Assistant City Attorney. More than six years as a U.S. Navy officer overseas, in Japan, East Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from CU Boulder. Licensed in Colorado state and federal courts.
That prosecutorial background matters in a specific way. White collar cases are built on documents, and prosecutors lean on summaries, like a spreadsheet of “losses” or an auditor’s conclusions, that are only as good as the assumptions behind them. A lawyer who knows how those cases get charged knows to test the assumptions.
Intent is usually the real fight. A business dispute, a bookkeeping mistake, or authority that was given and later denied isn’t a crime.
Every white collar case turns on a few pieces:
We go through the records ourselves, and bring in forensic accountants when the numbers call for it.
Theft and fraud require intent to deprive or deceive. Mistakes, disputes, and authorized transactions aren't crimes.
The number decides the felony class. Double-counting and inflated valuations are common.
Getting involved before charges are filed leaves the most room to shape what happens next.
Professional licenses, public employment, and security clearances can be at stake. We plan the resolution around them.
We look at all of it. Then we decide, with you, whether to negotiate, file motions, or try the case.
The order below is the shape of most Colorado criminal cases. Where your case sits in it determines what can still be changed.
You will be advised of the charges, usually within 48 hours. You do not have to explain yourself to anyone, and you should not. The single most common way a defensible case becomes a difficult one is a statement given before a lawyer was involved.
The court sets bond considering the charge, your record, your ties to the community, and any perceived risk. Bond can be argued, and bond can be reduced after it’s set. A lawyer at that hearing is the difference between a number and an argument.
In any domestic violence case, a mandatory protection order issues immediately. It can bar you from your own home and from contact with your family. It can be modified — but only through the court, never by agreement with the other party.
We obtain everything the state has: reports, body camera footage, dispatch audio, lab results, officer histories. We also build what the state didn’t bother to — witnesses they never interviewed, video they never pulled.
Suppression of an unlawful stop, an unlawful search, or an involuntary statement can end a case outright. Several of our dismissals came at or immediately after a motions hearing.
Most cases resolve. Some should not. We prepare every case as though it will be tried, because that preparation is what produces the better offer — and because when a case should go to a jury, we are ready.
Recent outcomes in theft, fraud, and public-official cases.
White collar theft charge resolved with probation and no jail.
Felony white collar theft charges reduced to a deferred judgment with no jail time.
Official misconduct charge dismissed.
Results depend on the specific facts and legal circumstances of each case. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
Unedited, from our Google profile.
Reviews are published on Google by the people who wrote them. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
These come up early in almost every white collar matter, often before any charge is filed. The answers below are general. The documents, the amounts, and your role decide how they apply to you.
Not without a lawyer. Investigators often reach out before charges are filed, and what you say or hand over can become the evidence. A lawyer can speak for you, and sometimes resolve the matter before a charge is filed.
Generally three years for a felony and 18 months for a misdemeanor. But for theft, identity theft, bribery, official misconduct, perjury, and similar offenses, the clock starts when the offense is discovered. Securities fraud has a separate five-year limit, and forgery has no deadline.
Not automatically. Repaying doesn’t undo a theft, but it’s often the most important factor in getting charges reduced, deferred, or dismissed, and restitution is required on conviction anyway. Talk to a lawyer before you offer or make a payment, so it’s handled and documented properly.
Embezzlement is charged as theft, so it’s a felony once the amount reaches $2,000. Embezzling public property is a class 5 felony on its own, and it permanently disqualifies you from public office in Colorado.
Using someone else’s identifying information or financial account to get money, goods, or services is a class 4 felony. Possessing another person’s information or financial device without using it is usually a misdemeanor, but becomes a felony when three or more people or devices are involved.
Many can. Class 4–6 felony and class 1 misdemeanor convictions can generally be sealed by petition after three years, if you meet the other requirements. Class 1–3 felony convictions generally can’t be sealed.
