To protect your safety in response to the threat of COVID-19, we are offering our clients the ability to meet with us in person, via telephone or through video conferencing. Please call our office to discuss your options.
Meg Strickler recently signed up for some new adverting with Avvo
So, after filling out all of these various things for the Avvo profile, we decided to ask some direct questions of managing partner, Meg Strickler
On May 17, 2021, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the establishment of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
On March 10, 2022, Garland announced Associate Deputy Attorney General Kevin Chambers as the Director For Covid-19 Fraud Enforcement.
In August, 2022, President Biden signed laws that give the Department of Justice and other federal agencies more time to investigate and prosecute Covid-19 fraud. It extended the statute of limitations for fraud charges involving PPP and EIDL fraud to ten years.
But,what if a threat is simply a result of a prank? What charges could result from calling in a threat that is not real? Criminal defense attorney Meg Strickler recently commented on NBC 11 Alive News about this very issue. Calling in a threat to a school can be very disruptive and it will always involve law enforcement. Teens can thus face charges ranging from misdemeanor to federal charges. And, the school can also suspend or expel a student for this conduct.
It is a complex situation especially in these times.
Once the search warrant is signed by the judge, the search warrant will be executed. Generally, the government will work to execute the warrant with local law enforcement officials. The search can take hours, and often times, questioning will occur at the same time. NEVER SPEAK TO LAW ENFORCEMENT at this juncture without a lawyer. This interview at your home or office is often recorded by body cam, audio, and other video devices. It can be difficult to get those statements excluded at trial for a variety of reasons.
After the execution of the search warrant, a copy of the search warrant inventory will be left, and it will list out exactly what was seized. In the case of the execution of the search warrant for Donald Trump, there is a search warrant, sworn affidavit, and application filed, but it is under seal. Mr. Trump also received a search warrant inventory. Hopefully, these documents will be released to the public sooner than later.
When the PPP program was first created, it was meant to assist business left struggling by the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the key provisions of the program, was that the Small Business Administration (SBA) would guarantee the loan which meant that borrowers could secure loans more easily. As mentioned in a previous blog, the government in the spring of 2020 started to go after the most egregious and problematic PPP loan applications and payments and really ramped up prosecutions.
But now, the DOJ, IRS, SEC etc are shifting their focus to more complex investigations. We have clients where the government is scrutinizing every aspect of the loan application such as
-was the box checked stating that you only had one entity
News stories continue to pour in about Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud (see
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/congressional-investigation-finds-over-1-billion-ppp-fraud-n1239001). The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) was authorized as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to provide forgivable loans to eligible small businesses. Under the PPP, small businesses can apply for loans that must be used for payroll expenses, interest on mortgage, rent, and/or utilities only. The amount of a PPP loan that a business could receive is generally 2.5 times (or 250%) the business’s average monthly payroll cost. The United States Small Business Administration oversees the PPP, but individual PPP loans are issued by private, approved lenders and banks, which are federally insured financial institutions.
How does the government identify potential fraud? They review the following, among other things:
In Operation Brace Yourself, DME and medical brace manufacturers were alleged to have paid “kickbacks” and “bribes” to doctors and nurse practitioners working with telemedicine companies for exchange for Medicare patient referrals for medically unnecessary braces.
In Operation Double Helix, patients nationwide were allegedly lured into providing their DNA for testing in a widespread genetic testing fraud scheme powered by a large telemarketing network. The doctors and nurse practitioners involved were paid to write orders prescribing the testing without any patient interaction or with only a brief telephone conversation.
Healthcare fraud remains a key target of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ uses civil penalties, as well as criminal charges, to punish healthcare fraud. The DOJ views healthcare fraud as a major issue.
Meg Strickler, a chair of the ABA section of International Law, Government and Public Interest Committee, is hosting a webinar tomorrow.
The US has recently authorized economic and travel sanctions against the members of the International Criminal Court who are investigating war crimes committed in Afghanistan. Are these sanctions lawful and justified? Should the US fear the jurisdiction of international courts? Our panelists will discuss these recent developments in the sphere of US foreign policy and international law.
Click the link for more details or to register. Discussion begins Friday, August 7, 2020 at 1:30pm EST:
Federal agencies can use the “national security” exception to avoid search warrants and use unobtrusive stingrays and dirtboxes to obtain cell phone numbers, owners’ names, and owners’ addresses. Without targeting a suspect, they can access large swaths of data by using this technology in crowds. They can even use that data after participants leave a gathering to track and investigate the people in attendance.
What are Stingrays and Dirtboxes?
https://theintercept.com/2020/07/31/protests-surveillance-stingrays-dirtboxes-phone-tracking/
Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyers Blog