Articles Posted in federal criminal defense

Fraud is a concept that has been in the criminal justice system forever.  Google defines it as an intentional deception used to gain an unfair advantage or benefit, often involving financial gains.  How does the Department of Justice prosecute fraud?  Below is a non exhaustive list of charges that the DOJ can bring. The FBI…

The federal government may target organizations and businesses as well as individuals for violations of federal criminal statutes.  For example, in the health care realm, cases can include office managers, practitioners from doctors, nurses to pharmacists to all other aspects of the medical industry.  Recent federal investigations have targeted pill mills, medicaid fraud, and accepting…

Milan Patel and four other defendants were charged both by the SEC and the Department of Justice for their role in an options trading scheme in the Northern District of Georgia.  Another defendant, Bart Ross was sentenced a few years ago for the same scheme.  In total, In total, the defendants executed more than 500…

A federal criminal trial consists of several different stages.   The below will analyze a ONE defendant trial.  But, more often than not, trials can consist of multiple defendants at trial.  This just augments the time needed for each stage. Jury Selection also known as Voir Dire Jury selection is one of the most important parts…

A five count indictment was unsealed this past week in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of New York.  The federal court in Brooklyn charged Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, executives of an Indian renewable-energy company, with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and Securities Fraud…

Recently, Robert Purbeck of Idaho, also known as “Lifelock,” and “Studmaster,”  was sentenced to ten years after pleading guilty to federal charges of computer fraud and abuse.  He hacked into the computer servers of the City of Newnan, Georgia  and a Griffin, Georgia medical clinic, and then targeted at least 17 other victims across the…

As we explained in our prior post about federal child pornography laws, the consequences of a child pornography or CSAM (“Child Sexual Abuse Material”) conviction are severe and life-altering. And the collateral consequence of being on the sex offender registry can be devastating. Early on, Conaway & Strickler defended cases that stemmed from activity on…

As discussed in our prior blogs, the Department of Justice has already been prosecuting cases of larger-scale, outright PPP fraud.  In August 2022, President Biden signed two bills into law that give the Department of Justice and other federal agencies more time to investigate and prosecute Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) cases.…

In the age of social media, viral trends come and go at lightning speed. Some are harmless and fun, but others can lead people into serious legal trouble. One of the most alarming trends recently circulating on TikTok is the so-called “free money hack.” This trend falsely promises easy money through exploiting banking loopholes, but…

Acceptance of responsibility is a concept in that appears in many federal criminal cases. It refers to the idea that a defendant acknowledges their culpability for the offense they are charged with. This is not just admitting guilt, but also demonstrating remorse and a willingness to cooperate with authorities. The defendant must genuinely take responsibility…