If you’re being investigated for a white-collar crime, whether money laundering, bank fraud, embezzlement, health care fraud, identity theft, or any other state or federal financial crime, it’s important to get help from a qualified federal defense attorney as soon as possible. Typically, by the time you are notified that you’re the target of an investigation, the government has already built its case against you, so you don’t have any time to waste.
Hire a Qualified Federal Defense Attorney
There are many defense attorneys throughout Florida and across the U.S., but they do not all have the same qualifications and experience. For defending against a serious white-collar criminal offense, you need an attorney with experience handling financial criminal cases in federal court.
It is, in fact, often noted that attorneys with successful experience as federal prosecutors make the best defense attorneys. They know the tactics government agencies use to investigate, charge, and prosecute defendants. They know when it’s in their clients’ best interests to cooperate with the government and when it’s advisable to not cooperate. In addition, they often know the federal prosecutors in their district personally and can negotiate with them to benefit their clients before charges are filed.
Make Sure Your Attorney Has Experience Defending Against White-Collar Criminal Charges
Federal agents collaborate with other law enforcement and regulatory department agents from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to build strong cases against people suspected of committing white-collar crimes. The breadth and depth of their investigations often lead to multiple felony charges, which in turn, lead to extremely harsh sentences, including 20 or more years in prison with no chance of parole.
Defending against a white-collar crime at either the State or Federal level is, therefore, not for attorneys who are inexperienced or afraid to tackle voluminous records. Your attorney should have the skills and resources needed to review and analyze detailed financial records and documents. Also, you need to retain an experienced attorney as early as possible in the investigation to make sure he has the time to do a thorough job. With so much at stake and so much stacked against you, you have no time to waste in protecting your rights and developing an effective defense strategy.
Follow Your Attorney’s Advice
You may receive a target letter from the government that encourages you to contact the prosecutor to discuss matters relevant to the investigation. While doing so might seem helpful, your attorney will tell you definitely not to discuss your involvement in or knowledge of a crime or potentially illegal scheme with federal agents or prosecutors. It is more likely than not that what you say will be used against you and that you will actually hurt your defense rather than help it. The best advice is to not contact the prosecutor yourself, but rather, let your attorney do the talking on your behalf.
Your attorney will also be able to advise you on what you should and should not discuss with anyone, including family members, and how to handle potential evidence. When you are involved in a federal investigation, you need to remember that the government could be listening to your phone conversations; investigators could search your home and workplace; and the government could charge you with obstruction of justice if you destroy or alter records in any way.
Retain an Experienced Federal White-Collar Criminal Defense Attorney in Florida
Throughout the past decade, prosecutors have sought harsher penalties for white collar crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering, and judges and juries have been willing to sentence defendants to more than 30 years in prison. When faced with such serious consequences, you need an attorney with the knowledge, skills and experience to protect your rights and fight for your future through all phases of the legal process.
Depending on the specifics of your case, an experienced federal defense attorney familiar with how prosecutors work in white-collar cases may be able to persuade the prosecutor to close the investigation or reclassify you as a witness instead of the target. If, however, a criminal indictment is unavoidable, your attorney may be able to negotiate a favorable pre-indictment plea agreement. Finally, if you are indicted and your case goes to trial, an experienced federal defense attorney will develop the strongest strategic defense possible to fight for your rights and your freedom.
If you’re involved in a federal financial (white collar) criminal case, get the best defense for your future by contacting federal defense attorney, David Haas. Before becoming a defense attorney, he had nearly ten years’ experience as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (federal prosecutor). As a federal prosecutor, he handled complex white-collar cases, including bank fraud, mortgage fraud, tax fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, and Ponzi/investment schemes; completed special training in the government’s investigative and prosecutorial tactics; and was honored for his investigative and litigation skills.
As a defense attorney, Haas leverages this advanced federal training and experience to identify and exploit weaknesses in the prosecution’s case and thereby help his clients.
When you are being investigated by the federal government, going to testify for a federal grand jury, meeting with federal agents, or going to trial in a federal criminal case, you can trust Haas’s depth of experience, wide-ranging knowledge, and litigative skills to protect your interests.
