Federal crimes

Criminal Defense

If federal agents have contacted you, the investigation is already mature.

The FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations and the Postal Inspection Service do not open files casually, and they rarely knock on a door on day one. By the time you are asked for an interview, or receive a target letter, or watch a search warrant executed at your business, there is a file with your name on it. What you do in that window genuinely changes outcomes — occasionally by preventing an indictment altogether.

Why federal practice is different

• Sentencing guidelines. Punishment is driven by a calculated offence level — loss amount, drug quantity, role, weapons, obstruction — and by statutory mandatory minimums. Fighting over those calculations is often where the real years are won.
• Grand juries and pretrial detention. Indictment comes from a grand jury you never see, and federal detention hearings follow rules unlike state bond practice.
• Relevant conduct. Federal sentencing can account for conduct beyond the count of conviction, including matters that were dismissed or never charged.
• Cooperation. It is a real mechanism with real reductions and real risks, and it is a decision to make with counsel before agents suggest it, not after.

Cases we handle

Drug conspiracies and trafficking. Wire, mail, bank, healthcare and pandemic-relief fraud. Money laundering and structuring. Firearm offences, including possession in furtherance of another crime. Identity theft and computer offences. Tax offences. Immigration-related prosecutions such as illegal reentry. Conspiracy charges, which allow the government to reach people whose role in the alleged scheme was small.

The interview you have been invited to

Talking to federal agents without counsel is the most expensive free decision people make. False statements to a federal agent are their own felony, and the interview report — written by the agent, days later, without a recording in many instances — becomes the official version of what you said. There is no downside to saying you would like your lawyer present.

Fees, and what you get for them

Criminal matters are quoted as a flat fee for a defined stage of the case, so you know what representation costs before you commit to it. Payment plans are available. What the fee buys is a lawyer who appears at your settings, reads the file rather than skimming it, and tells you honestly which parts of the State's case are weak and which are not.

Common questions