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Crimes Affecting Persons with Infirmities – Louisiana

Cruelty to Persons with Infirmities

In New orleans criminal lawyer for Cruelty to the Infirm can be found at La. R.S. 14:93.3. It defined as the intentional or criminally negligent mistreatment or neglect by any person, including a caregiver, whereby unjustifiable pain, malnourishment, or suffering is caused to a person with an infirmity, an adult with a disability, or a person who is aged, including but not limited to a person who is a resident of a nursing home, facility for persons with intellectual disabilities, mental health facility, hospital, or other residential facility.

Definitions

“Caregiver” is defined as any person or persons who temporarily or permanently is responsible for the care of a person with an infirmity; an adult with a physical or mental disability; or a person who is aged, whether such care is voluntarily assumed or is assigned.

A person who is aged is any individual 60 years of age or older.

Note: The providing of treatment by a caregiver in accordance with a well-recognized spiritual method of healing, in lieu of medical treatment, shall not for that reason alone be considered the intentional or criminally negligent mistreatment or neglect of a person with an infirmity, an adult with a disability, or a person who is aged. The provisions of this Subsection shall be an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this Section.

Penalties / Sentencing: Cruelty to the Infirm

Fined not more than $10,000 dollars or imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than 10 years, or both. At least 1 year of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence when the act of cruelty to persons with infirmities was intentional and malicious.

Upon a second or subsequent conviction, the offender shall be fined not more than $10,000 dollars and imprisoned at hard labor for not less than 5 years nor more than 10 years – 5 years of the sentence of imprisonment imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

Exploitation of Persons with Infirmities

In Louisiana, the law for Exploitation of the Infirm can be found at 14:93.4. It is defined as:

The intentional expenditure, diminution, or use by any person, including a caregiver, of the property or assets of a person with an infirmity, an adult with a disability, or a person who is aged, including but not limited to a resident of a nursing home, facility for persons with intellectual disabilities, mental health facility, hospital, or other residential facility without the express voluntary consent of the resident or the consent of a legally authorized representative of an incompetent resident, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations.

OR

The use of the power of attorney or guardianship of a person with an infirmity, a person who is aged, or an adult with a disability for one’s own profit or advantage by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations.

Penalties / Sentencing: Exploitation of the Infirm

Whoever commits the crime of exploitation of persons with infirmities shall be fined not more than $10,000 dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than 10 years, or both.

Whoever is convicted, or who enters a plea agreement for exploitation of persons with infirmities shall be prohibited from having access to the assets or property of the victim or of any other person with a disability or person who is aged.

The offender shall be prohibited from being appointed as a power of attorney or guardian for the victim or any other person with a disability or person who is aged. The provisions of this Subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the offender from inheriting from the victim with an infirmity.

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Second Degree Battery / Aggravated Second Degree Battery – Louisiana

Second Degree Battery — La RS 14:34.1

Under Louisiana, Second degree battery is a felony and also a crime of violence. It is defined as a battery when the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury; however, this provision shall not apply to a medical provider who has obtained the consent of a patient.

Definitions

(1) “Active member of the United States Armed Forces” shall mean an active member of the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the United States Coast Guard, or the National Guard.

(2) “Disabled veteran” shall mean a veteran member of the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the United States Coast Guard, or the National Guard who is disabled as determined by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.

(3) “Serious bodily injury” means bodily injury which involves unconsciousness, extreme physical pain or protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, or a substantial risk of death.

Penalties / Sentencing

Whoever commits the crime of second degree battery shall be fined not more than $2,000.00 dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than 8 years, or both. At least 18 months of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence if the offender knew or should have known that the victim is an active member of the United States Armed Forces or is a disabled veteran and the second degree battery was committed because of that status.

Aggravated Second Degree Battery — La RS 14:34.7

Under Louisiana law, Aggravated second degree battery is a felony and a crime of violence. It is a battery committed with a dangerous weapon when the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury.

Definitions

(1) “Active member of the United States Armed Forces” shall mean an active member of the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the United States Coast Guard, or the National Guard.

(2) “Disabled veteran” shall mean a veteran member of the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the United States Coast Guard, or the National Guard who is disabled as determined by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.

(3) “Serious bodily injury” means bodily injury which involves unconsciousness, extreme physical pain or protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, or a substantial risk of death.

Penalties / Sentencing

Whoever commits the crime of aggravated second degree battery shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than 15 years, or both. At least 1 year of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence if the offender knew or should have known that the victim is an active member of the United States Armed Forces or is a disabled veteran and the aggravated second degree battery was committed because of that status.

Contact  New orleans criminal lawyer

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What is the penalty for Federal Mail Fraud?

If the fraud involves a fictitious name or address, pay a fine or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

A fine or imprisonment of not more than 20 years, or both.

If the violation occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted, transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency, or affects a financial institution.

Fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

Legal Assistance

If you or a loved one is under investigation or has been indicted for a federal mail fraud in New Orleans, it is very important for you to hire an attorney as soon as possible. Contact New orleans criminal lawyer

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Includes Tangible and Intangible Property Rights

Mail fraud may include a scheme or artifice to deprive another of intangible property rights, such as honest services, as well as tangible property rights. To determine whether a particular interest is considered a property right for purposes of fraud statutes, we must look at whether the law traditionally has recognized and enforced it as a property right.

Use of Mailings and Wires

The offense of mail fraud demands proof of a scheme to defraud which, at some point, is intentionally furthered by the use of the mails. It is not necessary that the scheme contemplate the use of the mails as an essential element. It is sufficient for the mailing to be incident to an essential part of the scheme..or just a step in the scheme. Moreover, it is not necessary to show that the defendant directly participated in the transmission or actually mailed something himself, proof that the defendant caused something to be mailed is sufficient. This may be proven by circumstantial evidence.

The gist of the offense of mail fraud is the use of mailings by someone to carry out some essential element of the fraudulent scheme or artifice. Accordingly, each use of the mails (in the case of mail fraud) and each separate wire communication (in the case of wire fraud) constitutes a separate offense, i.e., each mailing and/or wire transmission can constitute a separate count in the indictment.

Private and Commercial Carriers

To combat telemarketing fraud, Congress amended the mail fraud statute to broaden its application to include private or commercial interstate carriers in addition to the United States Postal Service. The large delivery service companies, such as New orleans criminal lawyer , are clearly interstate carriers, but small entities, such as local messenger services, are not as easily categorized.

Interstate or Foreign Commerce

The statute requires a transmission in interstate or foreign commerce, so an intrastate transmission of a mailing or electronic communication is not mail fraud.

Noteworthy:

The mail fraud and wire fraud statutes are becoming important tools in the prosecutions of a) RICO violations, b) money laundering, c) financial institution fraud, and d) telemarketing fraud. Mail and wire fraud violations that support prosecutions in these areas can result in more severe sanctions and can form the basis for civil or criminal forfeiture.

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Federal Mail Fraud Laws

New orleans criminal lawyer

The mail and wire fraud statutes are essentially the same, except for the method associated with the offense – the mail in the case of mail fraud and wire communication in the case of wire fraud. As a consequence, the interpretation of one is ordinarily considered to apply to the other. The two terms have been used interchangeably in this article.

The federal statute for mail fraud is found at 18 USC § 1342. The two elements of Mail Fraud are (1) having devised or intending to devise a scheme to defraud (or to perform specified fraudulent acts), and (2) use of the mail for the purpose of executing, or attempting to execute, the scheme (or specified fraudulent acts).

The statute explains mail fraud by fictitious name or address as:

Conducting, promoting, or carrying on by means of the United States Postal Service, any scheme, fraud, artifice or any other unlawful business, uses or assumes, or requests to be addressed by, any fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address or name other than his own proper name, or takes or receives from any post office or authorized depository of mail matter, any letter, postal card, package, or other mail matter addressed to any such fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address, or name other than his own proper name.

Scheme to Defraud

The mail fraud and wire fraud statutes do not define the terms “scheme” or “artifice” and the courts have traditionally been reluctant to offer definitions of either term except in the broadest and most general, nontechnical terms. The words ‘to defraud’ in the mail fraud statute have the common understanding of doing wrong to another’s property rights by dishonest methods or schemes and usually signify the deprivation of something of value by trick or deception.

No Victim is Required

It is the scheme or intent to defraud and not actual fraud that is required. No victim or actual loss is required. The Success of the scheme and loss by a defrauded person are not essential elements of the crime.

“To hold that actual loss to victim is required “would lead to the illogical result that the legality of a defendant’s conduct would depend on his fortuitous choice of a gullible victim.” quoted in Maxwell, 920 F.2d at 1036.

Proof of a Scheme

To sustain a conviction the government must prove the existence of a scheme; it is not required, however, to prove all details or all instances of the alleged illicit conduct. The government need only prove that the scheme to defraud existed. It is, however, required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant willfully and knowingly participated in a scheme or artifice to defraud. The defendant need not have performed every key act of the scheme herself.