It’s 6 a.m. or 8 p.m., your doorbell rings and two people are standing outside holding up their badges and credentials. They say they are Special Agents with the FBI or IRS and would like to talk with you for just a few minutes about something important. They ask if they could come in [...]
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is planning a hiring spree to investigate and prosecute pandemic related fraud and traditional white collar crimes. President Biden’s budget seeks $3.5 million to hire an additional 120 prosecutors to focus on pandemic related fraud and $325 million for 900 additional FBI [...]
In addition to the 93 U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country that investigate and prosecute health care fraud, the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division based in Washington D.C. has approximately 76 federal prosecutors devoted to such prosecutions. This DOJ Unit targets complex health care fraud involving illegal prescription, distribution and diversion [...]
When someone pleads guilty or is convicted of a federal or state crime, there are serious collateral consequences, in addition to potential jail time, forfeiture, restitution and other fines and penalties. The term ‘‘collateral consequence’’ means a collateral sanction or a disqualification, a penalty, disability, or disadvantage that is imposed by law as a [...]
When someone is being investigated or charged with a criminal offense, it is one of the most stressful and unnerving times of the person’s life. It is common to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about who to hire and what to ask in the initial consultation with a criminal defense attorney. Below are some tips [...]
Typical scenario – early morning, FBI agents show up unannounced at your home or workplace wanting to speak with you. You are not under arrest, they are simply investigating something that you can help with. Maybe it’s about your employer, or friend, or something you were involved in with others. You are caught off-guard [...]
Chief Financial Officers, Account Managers and bookkeepers all, to vary degrees, are trusted employees who have access to corporate funds. Access to company funds, with little or sporadic oversight, can leave a company vulnerable to a variety of fraudulent schemes to obtain funds those employees were not entitled to. Common schemes include: The trusted employee [...]
Newly sworn in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued new policies and procedures to his staff that substantially altered existing office policy in prosecuting criminal cases. The new directive defers certain prosecutions for lower-level offenses, reduces certain felony offenses, prohibits seeking life in prison without parole, and prohibits seeking bail except in limited violent offenses.
Each new administration, through its Attorney General, set policy as to the Department of Justice’s enforcement priorities. As the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, Kenneth Polite recently outlined those priorities. In general, those areas include foreign corruption, computer crimes and money laundering/. Polite announced that his office will be unveiling a [...]
Laura K. Gasiorowski will once again be participating in the annual NJICLE Immigration Law and Criminal Acts webcast presented by NJSBA. The panel, composed of criminal and immigration lawyers, will tackle the myriad legal issues that arise in “crimmigration”… the intersection of criminal and immigration law.