Posted on April 30, 2020 in Federal Crimes

Facing federal charges is a very upsetting and confusing thing. You may not know why you are being accused of the offense, and you are likely very stressed out about your future. All of these are very natural reactions, but they can lead people to take the wrong types of action. These actions can be very detrimental to a case, and even cost a person their future. If you have been charged with a federal crime, it is important to know what the most common mistakes made are, so you can avoid making them yourself.

Taking Your Case to Social Media

When people are arrested for a federal crime,  they are read the Miranda warning, which tells them that anything they say, “can and will be used against them in a court of law.” Many people think this only applies to speaking to the police, but it does not. Anything you say regarding the case can be used against you, even when it is said on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms. As such, you should stay off social media completely or, at the very least, refrain from posting to it.

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 Posted on April 23, 2020 in Fraud

ATM fraud is sometimes considered a state crime, but it is often charged on the federal level because banks are federally regulated and typically suffer harm as a result of the fraud. Other charges also often accompany charges of ATM fraud, including wire fraud, identity theft, larceny, bank fraud, and credit card fraud. To avoid a conviction for any of these charges, and for ATM fraud, it is always important to speak to a federal criminal defense lawyer that can help.

Types of ATM Fraud

There are many different ways to commit ATM fraud. The most common types of ATM fraud include:

• Stealing from an ATM machine: This crime involves actually breaking into an ATM machine and stealing the money inside.
• Stealing an ATM machine: Due to the fact that there are often many cameras in the area of ATM machines, some people remove them completely to break into them in another location.

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 Posted on April 16, 2020 in Federal Crimes

The coronavirus has touched everyone in the country in some way, even those that have never tested positive or become exposed to the virus. Now, President Trump has signed an executive order making price gouging illegal. Under the Defense Production Act, which was enacted in 1950 and invoked by Trump recently to force manufacturers such as GM to create personal protective equipment, the President has also made it illegal to hoard that same equipment.

Hoarding and Price Gouging

Hoarding is a federal crime and by invoking the Defense Production Act, federal agents now have the ability to find those that are hoarding certain materials and prosecute them for doing so. Hoarding itself is defined as accumulating scarce materials beyond what is considered reasonable for business, personal, or home consumption. Like any other section of code that defines something as ‘reasonable,’ what is and is not reasonable is likely to be determined on a case by case basis.

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 Posted on April 09, 2020 in Sex Crimes

It is widely known that when a person is convicted of certain sex crimes, they must register on either a state or federal sex registry, or both. It is natural for people to want to avoid this registration. It can be embarrassing and make people feel ashamed, even if they were innocent of the crime and wrongly convicted. However, few people wonder what the consequences are for failing to register on a sex offender registry. A recent story involving a celebrity highlights just how serious this action could be.

Legal Troubles for Nicki Minaj’s Husband

It was in early March that Nicki Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, turned himself over to federal agents for failing to register as a sex offender after moving to California. In July, Petty had moved to California from New York to be with Minaj, but court documents state that he intentionally failed to register as a sex offender. This is a requirement outlined in the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). According to the Act, convicted sex offenders must register in each jurisdiction that they live in, reside in, or work or attend school in.

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 Posted on March 27, 2020 in Criminal Defense

When a person has been charged with a federal crime, there are many consequences they will face. These include jail time, high fines, and a permanent criminal record. However, some individuals may be able to get a pardon. Pardons are available at the state and federal level. When someone is granted a pardon from the state, they are given by the governor of that state. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, federal crimes can only be pardoned by the President of the United States. Below is some information about presidential pardons and how they work.

Requesting a Presidential Pardon

The President may decide on their own to pardon someone of a crime. Most often though, pardons are only granted once a person applies for one. Applications are submitted to the Department of Justice and the Department then reviews the application. No one can apply for a pardon until at least five years after they have been released from prison.

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 Posted on March 20, 2020 in White Collar Crime

Recently, a man in Birmingham pleaded guilty to tax evasion for failing to pay $1.3 million in taxes. John P. Cooney filed false returns in 2011 and the returns were for the three years prior. Cooney was accused of failing to pay $780,000 to the IRS and instead, created a fraudulent company that he then used to conceal his salary and returns from his investments. In addition to facing up to five years in prison, he is also now required to pay $1.3 million in penalties.

The story is an interesting one and a good reminder as Americans head into tax season. It is important everyone understands what tax evasion is, and the serious penalties associated with the offense.

What Is Tax Evasion?

Tax evasion is the act of willfully trying to evade making tax payments lawfully owed to the federal government. To prove tax evasion, the prosecution must show that a person willfully and knowingly tried to avoid making payments to the IRS. The prosecution must also prove that there is an amount owed to the federal government at the time of the prosecution.

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 Posted on March 13, 2020 in Hate Crime Statute

In early February, a man entered a plea deal after being accused of setting fires to three different churches in Louisiana. Now he faces a number of state and federal charges. Among the federal charges he is facing, one is intentional damage to religious property, which is a hate crime under the Church Arson Prevention Act.

Damaging Religious Property Defined

According to Title 18, U.S.C., Section 247, damaging religious property is defined as damaging, defacing, or destroying property due to its religious nature. This last element of the offense is very important. In order to be considered a hate crime, the prosecution must prove that the defendant damaged property intentionally, and specifically due to its religious nature.

This means that if someone is on religious property and accidentally damages it, they cannot be charged with a crime. It is the intent to destroy religious property that makes this offense a hate crime.

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 Posted on March 06, 2020 in Federal Crimes

There is a lot that happens in a federal investigation and much of the time, a person does not even realize they are being investigated until they receive a target letter in the mail. Target letters are very intimidating and can strike fear in the hearts of anyone that receives one. After receiving a target letter, it is also natural to wonder what you should do next. So, what is a target letter and what does it mean for you?

What Is a Target Letter?

During a federal investigation, there are three categories federal agencies will place people into. These are witnesses, subjects, and the target. The target is the person federal investigators are targeting and believe has committed a crime such as embezzlement or a drug crime.

The subjects in the investigation are individuals federal agents believe may know something about a crime, but they do not believe a subject has committed the offense. Like in any other legal case, witnesses are individuals that may have seen the crime and so, law enforcement and the prosecution only want to talk to them to learn more about what may have happened.

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 Posted on February 28, 2020 in Fraud

When the FBI announced this past year that bank fraud was on the rise, it did not come as a surprise to many. Today, information is kept on servers and computers, which skilled hackers can learn how to access to commit fraud. Unfortunately, not everyone charged and arrested for bank fraud is guilty. Overzealous law enforcement officials often charge the wrong person in pursuit of making arrests and helping the prosecution with securing a conviction.

Due to this overeagerness, there are many people that need a strong defense against bank fraud charges. Some of the most common defenses used are found below. If you have been charged, an experienced federal criminal defense lawyer will use one or more of these when proving your innocence.

Lack of Intent

Many fraud offenses require the defendant to have the intent to defraud someone else, and bank fraud is no different. If you did not have the intent to defraud a bank, or a person through their bank account, you cannot be convicted of fraud. To prove that you did not have intentions of fraud, your lawyer can introduce evidence that shows that you tried to correct the situation.

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 Posted on February 21, 2020 in White Collar Crime

In early January, former Congressman Chris Collins was sentenced by a federal judge to over two years in prison for insider trading and making false statements to federal agents. The former congressman told his son that the results from the clinical trial conducted by Innate Immunotherapeutics were negative. Armed with the tip, Collins’ son sold his shares, and many others followed. Along with the jail time, the judge also sentenced him to a fine of $200,000.

Collins admitted to what he had done, saying that he was a disgrace to not only his son, but also the constituents he once served. However, not everyone charged with insider trading is guilty. For these individuals, there are many defenses available.

There Was No Purchase or Sale of Securities

Insider trading is the act of sharing information pertaining to securities before that information becomes public. Then someone must act on that information by either purchasing or selling their stocks or shares. In Collins’ case, the results of the clinical trial had not yet been released, but his son sold his shares after hearing of the trial’s results. This contributed to the conviction of Collins.

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