Federal Crimes Blog

If you're charged with a federal crime, you obviously don't want to go to prison for a long time. Probably one of the biggest factors that will get you a short sentence is if your attorney can convince the judge that you're not a threat to the community and you don't deserve to get a lengthy sent...

There are a whole host of factors that judges and prosecutors look at when dealing with federal criminal cases and giving lengthy sentences.  One of the biggest, obviously, is whether you've committed a crime that has a mandatory minimum. For example, there are certain theft offenses that a 2-yea...

For the most part, judges in federal court, at least across the criminal courts, are really trying to prevent litigants from coming into their courtroom. They are mostly seeing video and WebEx type appearances, meaning that all parties will appear on video. Nobody is really going into the courtro...

A lot of people get confused when it comes to these federal criminal cases.  They don't realize that even though your attorney is going to argue for the lowest possible sentence, and the prosecutor sometimes will ask for the highest possible sentence, that the bottom line is, ultimately the judge...

When it comes to federal criminal cases, over the last 27 years, I would answer that question yes, absolutely.  There's no way you can phone in your appearance in a federal criminal case. Now, with the Coronavirus, that's pretty much the only way the federal courts are doing business.  I've had a...

Are There Any Trends In The Federal Realm Between Everything That's Happened In 2020 With The PPP Loan Frauds? Is There Any Type Of Case That The Federal Government Is Going After More? The federal government is definitely investigating any type of fraud that's related to the funds that were give...

I've been doing federal criminal defense now for the past 27 years, and I think one of the most powerful traits that the best criminal defense attorneys has is a well-rounded background as it relates to defending federal criminal cases. That means: understanding how prosecutors deal with cases...

Sentencing guidelines in federal cases across the nation, in my opinion, having done this for 27 years, basically act as a guideline for the judge, the prosecutor and the defense in how and what sentence a criminal defendant will receive in a federal case. What I mean by that is, it is undisputed...

What is the Benefit of Hiring a Federal Criminal Defense Attorney Before the Case is Filed? A lot of people get wind that they're being investigated and instead of getting to an attorney right away hiring them pre-filing, they just bury their head in the sand and hope for the best. They don't wan...

This bail issue comes up all the time, and unfortunately, people are so zeroed in on it, they forget about the fact they actually have a federal criminal case pending against them. Regardless of whether they or their loved one gets out on federal bail, that case is not going away.  Depending on h...

Typically, when somebody gets arrested, especially here in the Central District, Los Angeles and that area, someone is going to be taken into the court. I've seen the arrest being made early in the morning and then the person makes the 2:00 calendar in the federal court, at which time they'll...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed federal criminal practice significantly. One of the biggest things that is being prevented from happening is criminal defendants actually going into the courts. It's very rare now that you see a defendant being able to appear in court.  Whereas, every other time ...

A lot of these big drug conspiracy cases that are charged, not only are people facing prison, they're facing mandatory minimums. That's the killer when it comes to federal drug prosecutions. There's a whole chart and a whole table that I go through with my clients when we sit down and meet if the...

This RICO charge is a very serious one and a lot of times when I see people getting wrapped up in a RICO charge it involves multiple defendants. In other words, it's not just one person getting indicted at the federal level, it's a bunch of people getting indicted. A lot of times we will see gang...

How is it Determined Whether a Case is Filed at the Federal or State Level in a Large Drug Seizure? In these big drug seizures where kilos of cocaine, methamphetamine or some other drug are found and the person is taken into custody, the question becomes, is the case going to be state or federal?...

Learn the Best Defenses Against Federal Credit Card Fraud Related Charges Under 18 U.S.C. § 1029 There are a lot of crimes being prosecuted that they are characterizing as access fraud.  It really has to do with some sort of credit card fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1029 or taking someone's personal in...

What Should You Do if Federal Authorities Raided Your House with a Search Warrant? This is a common thing where the feds will get a search warrant and they'll come in and take certain property, and believe it or not, they won't arrest the person. If you're reading this before that happens to you,...

Why do Defendants Get Taken into Custody In Federal Criminal Cases and Cannot Bail Out? This is a common question and I see where people are being detained in federal cases and cannot get out.  People aren't used to this, because in state cases, a person is almost always entitled to some sort of ...

Is it Possible to Resolve a Federal Criminal Case Before Charges Are Actually Filed in Court? The answer to this question is yes.  I have engaged in many prefiling negotiations with prosecutors.  Of course, the circumstances have to be right for this. Typically, the prosecutors will contact the...

When people think of tax fraud, they often think of the federal government. If you are being charged with a federal criminal case, the federal government is probably the entity that will prosecute your case. If you are being charged with tax fraud related to the EDD or the state of California, th...

This is a big issue that I've had to deal with over the course of the last 26 years that I've been a federal criminal defense attorney.  A lot of people or their families have been arrested and they're in custody and they're trying to find a lawyer. Sometimes, they are even the actual person them...

What Determines Whether a Child Pornography Prosecution Is Dealt with by the Federal Government or the State? This is a big question because a lot of times what's happening is, someone is coming to a person's house or business, arresting that person or simply searching their house. They are...

A lot of people nowadays are getting entrapped in the government's net of prosecuting the so-called Ponzi schemes.  Basically, it is where people are purportedly involved in some sort of a legitimate business venture and they end up taking investors. Those investors pay money in hopes of getting ...

People working in the medical or health industry often take money from the government for various reasons, whether it be through Medicare or Medicaid. This person cannot be giving kickbacks to anyone in order to get that person to perform any type of medical services. An example would be a doctor...

One of the big stings about all the drug laws that were changed and passed in the 1980s during the Regan administration had to do with 10-year mandatory minimums being placed on some drug offenses. Really what they're looking at is the type of drug that's being sold, trafficked, transported for p...