When you have become the target of an investigation, your world can turn upside down. Perhaps your bank account has been frozen or an asset seized. Perhaps you’ve already been arrested or indicted. Any way you slice it, you may have a long road ahead of stress and chaos.
To us, your situation isn’t about whether you actually committed a crime. Instead, we will invoke your rights, work with forensic accountants to crunch the numbers, and utilize legal tools to pave the way for your life to continue as smoothly and comfortably as possible. With our successes, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the New York Law Journal, have featured us. Finally, because of our accomplishments in the white collar arena, our Firm was involved with the largest insider trading case in American history.
The sooner our clients hire our white collar criminal defense lawyers in Manhattan and New York City, the more effectively we can help. Our law firm accepts clients all across New York City and beyond.
Wire And Mail Frauds
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If you’ve used the mail, TV, radio, phone or the Internet, to illegally obtain money or property, then you can be charged with mail and/or wire fraud. These federal offenses where you can face up to 30 years in prison.
Conspiracy
It’s not a crime to discuss something unlawful — unless you’ve taken a concrete or overt step toward accomplishing the act. Conspiracy is the catch-all crime for the federal government. This means that even when the crime discussed is never finalized (or is never even close to being completed) you can still be charged and face up to 20 years’ jail.
Money Laundering
Money laundering is the process of making illegally-gained proceeds (“dirty money”) appear legal (“clean”). Typically, it involves three steps: placement, layering and integration. First, the illegitimate funds are furtively introduced into the legitimate financial system. Then, the money is moved around to create confusion, sometimes by wiring or transferring through numerous accounts. Finally, it is integrated into the financial system through additional transactions until the “dirty money” appears “clean.” The government believes that those involved in money laundering often do so to facilitate crimes such as drug trafficking and terrorism; however, if the government can’t link the transactions to these crimes, they will solely charge money laundering, where the accused can face up to 20 years’ prison.
Criminal Tax
Compared to a civil tax audit, criminal tax investigations started by the IRS can lead to prosecution by the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance can also investigate you or your company directly through District Attorneys’ offices.
Civil And Asset Forfeiture (Property Seizures)
If you’re suspected of committing a crime, or if you may be connected to someone who is, the government may attempt to seize your property or money. We have defended a number of individuals and companies and their property in matters before Homeland Security, the IRS and U.S. Attorneys’ offices.
Securities Fraud
The term Securities Fraud covers a wide range of illegal activities, all of which involve the deception of investors or manipulation of financial markets. We defend cases before the SEC, FINRA and U.S. Attorneys’ offices.
High Yield Investment Frauds
- Are characterized by promises of high rates of return with little or no risk.
- May involve various forms of investments (e.g. Securities, commodities, real estate, precious metals, etc.)
- Investors can be contacted by telephone, email or in person.
- The offers are generally unsolicited.
Ponzi And Pyramid Schemes
- Use money collected from new investors to pay the high rates of return promised to earlier patrons.
- Payouts give the impression of a legitimate, money-making enterprise behind the fund director.
- In reality, investors are the only source of funding.
Advance Fee Schemes
- Shareholders advance relatively small sums of money in the hope of realizing much larger gains.
- Gains never materialize because there is no legitimate underlying investment.
- To participate in a particular investment opportunity, buyers must first send funds to cover “taxes” or “processing fees.”
- After purchasers send the “fees,” the fund managers appropriate the funds and never deliver on the investment.
Insider Trading
Insider trading is a common term that encompasses both legal and illegal conduct. If you have been accused of illegal insider trading, it is important to work with a defense attorney experienced in similar cases. Because of our firm’s extensive experience with these matters, we had the honor of filing an amicus brief in the nation’s largest insider trading case.
Health Care Fraud
The government can charge you with health care fraud, if they believe you have collected money for services not rendered or received. Those accused of health care fraud can range from doctors to nurses to pharmacists to home health aides, and can even be relatives of disabled or elderly benefit recipients. Medicaid fraud matters are mostly prosecuted in state court by the New York State Attorney General’s Office; Medicare fraud matters are investigated by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and they can refer these cases for prosecution to the local U.S. Attorney’s office.
Bribery
When you offer money, services or something else of value with the intent to persuade a person’s actions, you may be accused of bribery. Bribing a public official is also prohibited by law and can lead to additional charges. We have experience defending clients against bribery accusations as well as prominent clients who are in the public eye.