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…
Under 18 U.S.C. § 3564(c), a federal court may modify or terminate a term of probation, or supervised release, that has been previously imposed. For a federal misdemeanor, a term of probation can be modified or terminated at any time. For felonies, however, the defendant must have completed at least…
What is Bitcoin money laundering? Bitcoin money laundering is the process of using Bitcoin to conceal the origins of illegally obtained money. This can be done by transferring the Bitcoin to multiple accounts, mixing it with other Bitcoin, or using it to purchase goods or services. Some believe that Bitcoin transactions…
On May 17, 2021, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the establishment of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force. On March 10, 2022, Garland announced Associate Deputy Attorney General Kevin Chambers as the Director For Covid-19 Fraud Enforcement. In August, 2022, President Biden signed laws that give the Department of Justice and…
The Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) and the Non-Residential Abuse Program (NRDAP) are offered by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) to assist inmates suffering from substance abuse issues. RDAP consists of 3 intensive phases, totaling over 500-hours of voluntary individual and group treatment, and it is about 9-12 months long. This…
On April 11, 2022, the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta announced the creation of a new pretrial diversion court, the Accountability, Treatment, and Leadership Court “ATL Court“. It is formed with the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Probation Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Defender Program,…
Attorney General Merrick Garland made recent comments about what he considered to be the Department of Justice’s top priorities for 2022. Since taking office in March 2021, Garland has tried to combat crime in a tumultuous time. He has been criticized for his handling of January 6 investigation and has stated…
What is a Grand Jury? The purpose of the grand jury is to determine whether or not there is probable cause to believe that any federal felony has been committed. A typical federal grand jury consists of between 16-23 citizens drawn from the community. The jurors meet in a closed…
The IRS has just announced that Operation Hidden Treasure will seek to find taxpayers with unreported income from currency transactions. Did you notice the new question on page 1 of the Tax Form 1040? It states, “At any time during 2020 did you receive any financial interest in virtual currency?”…
PPP Loan Fraud -NEWEST DEVELOPMENTS As we continue to see in the news, many cases are being charged by the Department of Justice for PPP (Payroll Protection Program) issues. There continues to be a lot of confusion out there over the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Understandable since information continues to…