A good defense requires money, a good attorney and a plan June 11, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in My Cases.Tags: Attorney, Crime, Fraud, Law, Lawyer, New Jersey
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I know this seems just like my last post, but I think it is important to really lay this out so that others can avoid similar mistakes.
This guy that came in my office today is accused of various Federal crimes. He was contacted by the FBI just about a week ago. In that time, he hired an attorney who is not a member of NACDL which really makes me question whether or not this attorney knows what he is doing. This attorney also only charges him $5000. Well for $5000, it seems like this guy got his hand held while he confessed. Yeah, that’s right, not even a proffer, a confession! So, now he is looking at prison time and wants a second opinion. My answer to him was that he got sold out which is what $5000 for major Federal charges buys you.
So what would I do different? Just about everything. If my client is saying anything, it would not be for a few months. I want to research all of the issues of the case and try to size up the case. I even want to do some investigation if I can.
His position was that he was guilty due to the paper trail in the case. I told him that the paper trail actually helps him. If no witnesses can actually link him to anything, then that is one possible defense right there. You also have the issue of intent or mistake. Without seeing any discovery, it just sounded like he had some issues. I also pointed out that the reason they wanted him to confess was because they have problems (small or large) with their case. Otherwise, taking a statement is a waste of time really.
This attorney also told him that he will be going to prison. Well yes, that’s the case if no one fights for him. We’ve had some cases where the guidelines called for prison (zone d) and yet, the client still stayed out of prison. So, never say never.
Thus, if you are facing charges or inquiry from law enforcement, find a good attorney that is not going to take a small fee just to hold your hand. Also make sure that the attorney knows what he or she is doing and ask if they are a member of NACDL. Finally, find out if they have a plan, even if it is a general idea of how they are going to fight for you!
A Federal criminal investigation is like open-heart surgery June 9, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in My Cases.Tags: Attorney, Crime, Law, Lawyer, New Jersey, News
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If you read my entire blog from back to front, I must seem like a broken record. I feel the need to repeat myself because I keep seeing people that just don’t get it. If any law enforcement agency is coming after you, it is serious business. However, if the Federal government is looking at you, it is incredibly serious business. If you get charged, there is a great chance you will be convicted. If you are suspected of a white collar crime, it is likely that you come from a middle-class or better background. Thus, if convicted, you stand to lose everything.
As a result, I view some cases like emergency open-heart surgery. Your life is on the line and I have to do everything in my power to keep the patient alive. In addition, if you were facing such a surgery, you would do anything and everything to stay alive. However, some people just don’t get this. They tell me that they don’t have the money for a big, aggressive defense. But of course, they have credit cards, a house with equity, nice cars and various other possessions that can be sold. Of course, they won’t find this money because they don’t view the case as that serious. Instead, it seems like some clients convince themselves that everything will be ok.
Problem is, once things go south, it is tough to put the toothpaste back in the tube. At some point, probably when they are sitting in prison, they think about all of their belongings and how useless they are now that their life is ruined. I can only hope that someone reads my blog before they make the wrong choice and so they hire a good attorney that actually has a plan. It may cost a lot of money and you may have to change your lifestyle, but you cannot put a price on freedom and liberty.
Examination Under Oath: How the Insurance Company Will Set You Up June 7, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in My Cases.Tags: Attorney, Crime, Examination Under Oath, Fraud, Insurance Fraud, Lawyer, New Jersey
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An insurance fraud charge usually starts well before the police get involved. As I’ve said before, insurance companies employ large teams of investigators, lawyers and others who do nothing else but insurance fraud investigation. Once they have enough evidence to deny the claim or get money back, they call the police and hand them a case tied up in a bow and ready to prosecute.
If you submit an insurance claim and the company suspects fraud, they will likely send you a letter for an “Examination Under Oath” or EUO. An Examination Under Oath is basically a deposition, but since there is no actual case, they call it an Examination Under Oath. An attorney will question you under oath about every last detail of your claim and everything you say will be taken down by a court reporter.
Thus, if you try to change your mind later on, the prosecutor on the case will hammer you as you gave a very detailed statement under oath. So, your credibility will be shot regardless of whether you were mistaken or lying. Regardless, your statement made during the Examination Under Oath will be used against you. The worst part is that you can’t challenge the statement as you were not questioned by the police.
So, what to do if you get a letter requesting a Examination Under Oath? Call an attorney and make sure that the attorney knows that he or she is doing when it comes to insurance fraud. As I practice in every court in New Jersey, I would be more than happy to help you if you get a request for an Examination Under Oath. The best part about getting an attorney for an Examination Under Oath is that it is rarely expensive and if you are never charged with insurance fraud, you will be saving many thousands of dollars in addition to the damage such a charge would do to your reputation.
Outside of New Jersey?
My consulting practice is available nationwide. Hiring a litigation consultant to help defend you is a cost-effective way of getting a tough lawyer on your side. Call me anytime to discuss your case.
NJ YMCA worker faces child porn charges June 6, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: child pornography, Crime, endangering the welfare of a child, Law, New Jersey, News, possession of child pornography
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Alex Kahn, an 18 year old high school student from Basking Ridge has been charged with second- and fourth-degree charges of endangering the welfare of a child after an undercover investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The second degree charge is for the alleged distribution of child pornography and the fourth degree charge is for the possession charge. Like most child porn investigations these days, the alleged child porn was found in a “shared folder” most likely for use in a P2P service like BearShare. The problem with that is that most people do not realize that their downloads are automatically placed in a shared folder.
These cases are great for a defense attorney; at least they should be. However, most defendants including Mr. Kahn, confess to everything which severely limits a defense attorney’s options. Without a confession, it is possible to avoid charges all together. I know this because I have done it in my own practice. Thus, when attorneys such as myself beg people to call an attorney first over and over again, we have clients like Kahn in mind.
Nevertheless, even with a statement, you can still work out great deals. Hopefully Kahn gets an attorney that knows what he or she is doing. I see far too many attorneys that take computer crime cases when they know don’t even know how to turn on a computer.
Story is here.
Two Charged with Voter Fraud in Atlantic City June 5, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: Atlantic City, Attorney, Crime, Fraud, Law, Lawyer, New Jersey, News, Voter Fraud
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I should move my office to Atlantic City. It seems like white collar crime is really picking up there. The latest involves the recent primary election that usually functions like a general election due to the demographics of the city. In other words, whoever wins the primary, is pretty much the mayor with the general election being a moot point.
The state Attorney General’s Office allege that David Callaway of Pleasantville, and Luquay Q. Zahir of Atlantic City commited voter fraud and tampered with public documents by submitting absentee ballots purporting to be votes for Marty Small, a city councilman running for mayor. The State alleges that those voters never actually voted for either candidate due to the actions of both men.
It seems like incumbent Mayor Lorenzo Langford may have alerted the State to this fraud as he went to court a few days before the primary alleging ballot fraud on behalf of Small’s campaign. He asked a judge to impound more than 500 disputed absentee ballots but the judge declined. Seems like he was right at least according to the State.
David Callaway, the brother of Craig Callaway, the former City Council president now serving a federal prison term for bribery, is awaiting trial for his alleged role in another Atlantic City corruption scandal that happened after Crag had pleaded guilty to bribery but was awaiting sentencing. The Callaways and others are charged with trying to blackmail a council rival.
This is going to be a tough case for both men. The key focus should be on who the main player was here and thus, the other man is less culpable and deserves a better plea deal. Another issue I would want to know as an attorney for either man is if anyone else was involved. If so, that information could go a long way.
I hate to sound like there is no real defense, but there are ballots that say one thing and the voters says they didn’t vote like that. Thus, someone did this. The only question is who. Unless you can show how it was impossible for you to have done this, a total defense of this case would be difficult.
Story is here.
When the FBI knocks, call an attorney June 3, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in My Cases.Tags: Crime, Fraud, Law, New Jersey, News, theft by deception
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Dealing with a smart client is like a breath of fresh air. I just had a client on a major case hire me before saying or doing anything when the FBI came calling. As a result, all options are on the table. The client indicated that he had spoke to some other attorneys that had no plan, that he was screwed and that he should ask the FBI what they want.
What do you think they want? To hang out? To take a survey about your neighborhood? No, they are looking to nail you to the wall. Anything you say to them will help them and I mean anything.
Of course, you can’t win every single case like in the Devil’s advocate and when no charges are even filed yet, it is virtually impossible to tell a client that there is a 100% chance of any outcome. I’ve seen some of the worst looking cases go nowhere for any number of reasons. You are not convicted until you are convicted so until that happens, there is always a chance of winning the case or otherwise avoiding absolute disaster.
The other important aspect of a white collar crime case and one of the main reasons why the client hired me over the other attorneys that had spoken with or planned to meet with was that I had a plan. There is too much “passive representation” or “reactive representation” which is when the attorney just waits for something to happen.
I often say that I provide “aggressive representation” and that is just not a fancy tagline, especially in a white collar crime case. In these cases, there is a ton of work to do before a complaint is even filed. Since there is so much work to do, I may charge a little more than another attorney would but my client today realized that his life is on the line and this is an emergency that needs to be dealt with right away.
There is no one way to handle every case, so I don’t have a cookie cutter plan that I put in place. Instead, I create a plan with the client and the rest of my office. My office has a proven track record of handling these cases so we are not working just to keep busy. We take the action necessary to fight for the client. The other thing that the client liked is that my entire office works as a team on his case. So he has three attorneys with over 40 years combined experience in addition to our entire support staff working together on the case.
This is going to be a major case so it’ll be interesting to see how it develops and how my strategy works in this case. I’ll post updates as I can but I will be limited in what I can disclose.
