Federal Criminal Prosecutions and Investigations

     The federal criminal code (set forth mainly in Title 18 of the United States code) contains over 120 categories of crimes, organized by subject matter. Additional federal codes contain other criminal prohibitions. Title 18 also contains the federal rules of criminal procedure, which set forth the rules which govern the handling of criminal cases from start to finish. Criminal laws have been increasingly "federalized." More and more are offenses subject to federal prosecution.
     If the crime with which you are being charged violates federal law, as opposed to state law, or the crime took place on federal property or in a federal building (like a U.S. Postal Office), the case will be referred to the federal courts for prosecution. If the crime with which you are charged violates both state and federal laws, it could potentially be prosecuted in either (or both) jurisdictions without violating the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy.


Examples of federal crimes include:
•Counterintelligence crimes including national security threats and economic espionage;
•Computer crimes including access device fraud (credit card and ATM card fraud), computer fraud, injuring or damaging communication systems operated or controlled by the United States or intended for use by military or civil defense functions for the United States, interception of communications (wire, oral or electronic), unauthorized access to stored communications and disclosure of the contents of communications and customer records;
•Crimes against children including child abductions, domestic and international parental kidnappings, sexual exploitation of children, interstate transportation of obscene material, online child pornography, physical/sexual abuse of a child on a government reservation, National Sex Offender Registry matters and violations of the Child Support Recovery Act;
•Cyber crimes including criminal spam, phishing, spoofed or hijacked accounts, international re-shipping schemes, Cyber-extortion, auction fraud, credit card fraud, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Computer Intrusions (hacking), economic espionage (theft of trade secrets), international money laundering, identity theft, pirating (software, music and movies), online child pornography and child exploitation and obscenity;
•Federal civil rights violations including hate crimes, Color of Law/Police Misconduct, Involuntary Servitude/Slavery (ISS) and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE);
•Gun crimes including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession by an illegal alien, and "unlicensed" possession of a firearm that requires a license (for example, a machine gun);
•Immigration crimes including illegal re-entry, smuggling illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens and immigration fraud;
•Import and export crimes including smuggling Goods Into the United States, entry of goods by means of false statements, importation or exportation of stolen property, failure to declare imported goods to customs, aiding unlawful importation and exportation of arms or munitions of war;
•Indian Country crimes including guns, violent juveniles, drugs, domestic violence, civil rights violations, environmental crimes, public corruption, Indian Gaming Regulatory Act violations, American Indian Art Theft and government fraud occurring in "Indian Country";
•Major thefts like stealing art, jewelry and gems;
•Organized crime, including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), drug trafficking (drug cartel or drug kingpin) and crimes involving well-entrenched organizations such as La Cosa Nostra and Italian Organized Crime, Russian/Eurasian Organized Crime, Nigerian Criminal Enterprises, and Asian Criminal Enterprises;
•Public corruption crimes, which typically involve law enforcement officers accepting money to protect or facilitate drug-trafficking and organized criminal activity;
•Tax crimes including tax evasion, tax fraud, and public corruption tax crimes;
•Violent crimes including child abduction or mysterious disappearance of children, serial murders, single homicides, serial rapes, extortions, threats, kidnappings, product tampering, arsons and bombings, weapons of mass destruction, public corruption, and domestic and international terrorism; and
•White collar crimes, including antitrust, bankruptcy fraud, environmental crime, financial institution fraud, governmental fraud, health care fraud, Internet computer crime, insurance fraud, money laundering, securities and commodities fraud and telemarketing fraud.


How Federal Crimes are Investigated?
     Federal crime investigations typically start with some form of communication from a federal law enforcement agency like the FBI. It may come in the form of a “target” letter (which means you are about to be indicted), or a telephone call where the agents say they just want to ask you a few questions. However many times, they pay personal visits to your home or office.
     Typical federal investigation agencies in federal crimes include the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Criminal Division of the IRS (CID), Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Postal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) or Customs.
     If a federal agent contacts you, do not answer their questions. They are specifically trained to get people who don't want to talk to them to talk with them. Just politely, but firmly tell the agents that you will need to retain an attorney before you can speak with them. Do not answer their questions. This cannot be stressed enough.
The U.S. Supreme Court has said that federal agents may utilize trickery and deception during the course of their investigations to get the information they want. If a federal agent tells you they are investigating insider trading or money laundering, asks if you did it and you tell them "no," if you later are convicted of money laundering or securities fraud you'll also face charges of lying to a federal agent. This is a separate charge that carries up to a 5-year prison term with no chance of parole, which will be added to whatever sentence is imposed on your money laundering or securities fraud conviction.
If you are being investigated for a federal crime, do not answer any questions the federal agents ask. Get a criminal law lawyer that is specifically experienced with federal law and procedure like Mercado & Rengel.


How Federal Crimes Are Charged?
     Unlike state-level court systems, the federal government exclusively uses federal grand jury indictments to charge a defendant with a crime. First, the crime is investigated by a federal grand jury—a secret panel of 23 people to whom an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) and a federal agent present evidence on why they feel someone has violated a federal criminal statute. The defendant usually doesn't even know what is happening when it's happening because neither the defendant nor his or her attorney is allowed to be present. On top of that, if the government has any evidence that shows an individual could potentially be innocent of the charges, that evidence does not have to be presented to the federal grand jury.
     Once the federal grand jury has decided that the individual probably committed a crime (probable cause), the foreman will complete the grand jury indictment form and sign it. The grand jury indictment is delivered to a Federal Magistrate Judge by the AUSA and federal agent. This typically results in a warrant for the defendant’s arrest, which initiates the federal crime process. The Federal Crime Process is much different than ones conducted by the states.
     Federal grand juries can issue subpoenas and compel persons to testify and submit documents to them. If you are subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury as a witness or to produce documents for the investigation, you should retain a federal crime attorney right away. Many times, witnesses unwittingly become targets for investigation and are indicted for a federal crime by the very same grand juries they thought they were assisting.


Federal Crime Prosecutors
     Federal crimes are prosecuted differently than state crimes. Instead of a prosecuting attorney, the prosecutor in federal criminal cases is the United States attorney's office. The United States attorney for each judicial district is appointed by the president, is subject to confirmation by the Senate, and answers to the attorney general of the United States, who is the head of the Justice Department, a cabinet agency. The cases are actually handled by assistant United States attorneys (AUSAs), who are hired by the United States attorney and are subject to the internal polices of the Justice Department and the constitution and laws of the United States. AUSAs decide which charges to file, who to charge (and not charge), and what, if any, plea offer to make.


Federal Judges
     The judge handling a felony federal case is called a district judge or district court judge. District court judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution. District court judges have lifetime appointments and do not have to be reappointed or run for reelection. Decisions by district court judges can be appealed to circuit courts of appeal and ultimately the United States Supreme Court.
     Assisting the district court judges are magistrate judges. Magistrate judges handle the initial court appearances in felony cases and are authorized to adjudicate misdemeanor and petty offenses. The first appearances (arraignment, bail, preliminary examination) in a felony case are probably going to be presided over by a magistrate judge.
For a felony, however, the law requires that the trial or sentencing must be before a district court judge unless the defendant and the prosecutor stipulate or agree to have the matter handled by the magistrate judge. Magistrate judges are selected by the district court judges and serve eight year terms.


Remember that if you are facing federal charges you need experienced legal representation taht you can count on. We at Mercado & Rengel are an international law firm dedicated to our clients.  Visit our website or contact us via email immediately with any questions.