Public Corruption

Public corruption refers to a wide range dishonest or unethical conduct for a personal benefit when engaged in by a public official or anyone involved in public affairs. Unlawful activities range from bribery to embezzlement.

According to 18 U.S. Code § 201 and under California law, Penal Code 67 & 68 , bribery by or of executive officers or public employees is its own charge. This legislation describes bribery as when a public official corruptly makes a decision or does something official in exchange for money or something else of value. However, bribery goes both ways and a person can be convicted of offering a bribe to an officer or public employee; and an officer or public employee can be convicted of soliciting or receiving a bribe.

It is not required for the exchange money or goods to actually take place, only the agreement. Therefore, if someone agrees to a bribe, they may be guilty of the crime even if no goods or money were exchanged. Similar to solicitation – the act is complete upon questioning.

In certain situations, bribery is a felony and the penalties can be severe, including up to 15 years imprisonment and disqualification from holding public office. Bribery is often prosecuted as a larger part of conspiracy and fraud cases.

Bribery may include favors for money in exchange for information about a government entity that regulated the operation of a person’s business, accepting goods to issue favorable rulings or legislation, and accepting campaign contributions in exchange for agreeing to repeal certain laws that would benefit a business owner.

Misappropriation of public funds is another common charge under this category of crimes and California Penal Code 424 makes this offense punishable for up to four years in state prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. Misappropriation typically involves a public official misusing public funds they were responsible for overseeing. As with bribery, if you are convicted of this offense you will not be allowed to hold any public office in the state of California.

Public corruption is a top priority for federal law enforcement agencies. In 2008, the FBI created the International Corruption Unit (ICU) to monitor the serious threat of international fraud against the U.S. government and the corruption of federal public officials.

The ICU’s tasks include: enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and investigating allegations of antitrust activity and oversight of international corruption task forces.

The FBI has proven itself to be especially aggressive in its prosecution of corruption and works in tandem with a number of law enforcement agencies at every strata of government to fight public corruption. They have a virtually unlimited budget to finance their investigations and prosecutions so, if you are or believe yourself to be under investigation for corruption, it is imperative that you contact us immediately.

Examples of Defenses Against Public Corruption

​As public corruption usually involves intent to commit fraud or bribery, negating the intent element is an essential aspect of criminal defense. Defenses include demonstrating that a person was intoxicated and could not formulate the requisite specific criminal intent, or that he/she was coerced or acted under duress physical or economic duress.

Entrapment is a legal defense used when the assertion that the criminal idea did not originate with the defendant, but actually originated from a suggestion from law enforcement, or that the officer coerced the defendant into committing the crime.