federal criminal attorney

P2P Applications and Child Pornography

Published on: November 2, 2024 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

As we explained in our prior post about federal child pornography laws, the consequences of a child pornography or CSAM (“Child Sexual Abuse Material”) conviction are severe and life-altering. And the collateral consequence of being on the sex offender registry can be devastating.

Early on, Conaway & Strickler defended cases that stemmed from activity on classic peer-to-peer applications like Limewire. These type of networks were simply software applications that provided a central hub for various computers to connect. Napster, for example, was a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing service that allowed users to share and download music files from other users’ computers. These types of programs were utilized to distribute music, movies and child pornography. Law enforcement was able to track those cases more easily.

Today, however, the government has also become well versed in programs like BitTorrent, Limewire and e-Donkey, among others. When a hard drive or device is analyzed by the government, they now will produce a report detailing their forensic examination. They will detail all of the evidence found on the device showing evidence of P2P Networking, search history, bookmarks and they even cite images or image fragments found in cache locations. Here is a recent example of a federal criminal prosecution of someone who downloaded images from the BitTorrent Network.

Criminal Consequences for Unruly Airline Passengers: The FAA’s Push for Prosecution

Published on: October 5, 2024 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

In recent years, unruly behavior on flights has become a growing concern, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to escalate its enforcement efforts. Since 2021, the FAA has referred over 310 cases of severe incidents to the FBI for criminal prosecution. These cases involve dangerous acts like physical assaults, attempts to breach the cockpit, and sexual misconduct, all of which have serious legal consequences.

The FAA’s zero-tolerance policy, implemented in 2021, marked a shift from warnings to immediate enforcement. With incidents like physical assaults on passengers and crew members, the FAA has consistently referred the most egregious cases to the FBI. The FAA can impose civil penalties up to $37,000 per violation, but when these cases are referred for criminal prosecution, offenders face much harsher outcomes.

In 2023, over 1,240 incidents of unruly passenger behavior were reported. Of those, 43 cases were referred to the FBI for criminal prosecution due to their severity. These cases often involve physical altercations or inappropriate behavior that pose a threat to the safety of everyone on board. The FAA’s clear stance on holding individuals accountable shows that passengers who engage in such behavior will face serious repercussions.You can read more about the FAA’s referral process and efforts in their official statement and in further detail from FAA’s unruly passenger policy page.

When Can Law Enforcement Search my Cell Phone?

Published on: September 14, 2024 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

Cell phones are everywhere today and thus play a significant role in criminal investigations.

What reports are generated from my devices?

Cellebrite reports provide information about phone calls and text messages; but now it also provides a report on the data stored on these devices such as voicemails, images, and browsing history. From GPS location data to social media activity, cell phones can provide a treasure trove for law enforcement agencies to use to build their cases.

Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs): What Triggers Them and How to Respond

Published on: September 13, 2024 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

In the world of banking and finance, the term “Suspicious Activity Report” (SAR) may sound intimidating—especially if you’ve been notified that a bank has filed one concerning your transactions. For individuals and businesses alike, it’s essential to understand what a SAR is, what activities can trigger these reports, and the potential legal consequences that may follow.

What is a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)?

A Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) is a document that financial institutions are legally required to file with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) when they detect potentially suspicious behavior involving financial transactions. Once filed, these reports are sent to FinCEN, a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which shares the information with law enforcement agencies for further investigation if necessary.

The Intersection of Crime and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Published on: November 14, 2023 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

An NFT, or Non-Fungible Token, is a digital asset representing ownership or proof of authenticity of a unique item or piece of content using blockchain technology. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are fungible and can be exchanged on a one-to-one basis, NFTs are non-interchangeable and one-of-a-kind. As long as you’re following copyright laws and selling legitimate assets, creating, selling, and reselling NFTs is legal. However, due to the decentralized and anonymous nature of the crypto world, NFTs come with a host of legal issues. Like with most digital innovations, regulatory legislation has been slow to catch up and establish clear guidelines; still, wrongful use of NFTs can implicate an array of criminal charges.

Money Laundering refers to the illegal process of concealing the origins of money obtained through criminal activities, making it appear as if it comes from a legitimate source. This is criminalized under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Money laundering using NFTs involves the illicit use of these digital assets to disguise the origins of illegally obtained funds. In this context, individuals create a fake record of sales on the blockchain by selling NFTs to themselves using different accounts. Once finished, they sell the NFT to an unsuspecting buyer and repeat the process.

Fraud has grown increasingly common in the crypto landscape due to its anonymous and decentralized nature. Fraud involving NFTs can manifest in various ways due to the unique characteristics of these digital assets. This is mostly being prosecuted as wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Some common forms of fraud associated with NFTs include:

How is White Collar Crime Generally Prosecuted?

Published on: July 10, 2023 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

The Department of Justice investigates and prosecutes cases where large amounts of money is alleged to have been taken. Examples of white collar crimes are money laundering, bank, wire and mail fraud, tax evasion, insider trading, insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, bribery and embezzlement. Of course Homeland Security, the FBI, the IRS, Customs and Border Patrol and SEC can also investigate and prosecute cases of fraud as well.

The government has a special United States Guideline Chapter dedicated to “basic” economic offenses. For purposes of this blog, this chapter will be discussed in more detail below. As with anything involving federal criminal litigation, nothing is crystal clear in the law. Therefore, there is also a chapter in the United States Guidelines dedicated to tax offenses, election fraud, gambling, and money laundering in the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

This USSG chapter DOES cover extortion, bribery, kickbacks, counterfeiting, embezzlement, health care fraud, computer fraud, insurance fraud, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, identity fraud, bankruptcy fraud, etc. What is most important in this chapter is the loss amount. All charges start off with a base offense level of 6 or 7 depending on the statutory max of the offense charged. Then, you look at what the “loss amount” is using the below table.

Loss (apply the greatest)	Increase in Level
(A) $6,500 or less	no increase
(B) More than $6,500	add 2
(C) More than $15,000	add 4
(D) More than $40,000	add 6
(E) More than $95,000	add 8
(F) More than $150,000	add 10
(G) More than $250,000	add 12
(H) More than $550,000	add 14
(I) More than $1,500,000	add 16
(J) More than $3,500,000	add 18
(K) More than $9,500,000	add 20
(L) More than $25,000,000	add 22
(M) More than $65,000,000	add 24
(N) More than $150,000,000	add 26
(O) More than $250,000,000	add 28
(P) More than $550,000,000	add 30.

The loss amount is a pandora box of confusion and the government is able to add all kinds of relevant conduct and intended loss conduct to inflate these numbers.

To further make things complicated, there are enhancements in this section that permit the government to add levels for things such as the use of sophisticated means, role in the offense, number of victims, a defrauding a charity, mass marketing, among others.

Navigating the federal criminal system is a task that should not be endured alone. Contact our team today for more information about we can protect your rights and your freedom.

Basics of Tax Evasion

Published on: March 3, 2023 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

By Maya Fouad

Tax evasion is the most common federal tax crime and involves the failure to report taxes, reporting taxes inaccurately, or failing to pay taxes. Federal law defines the crime broadly; 26 U.S.C. 7201 states, “[a]ny person who willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any tax imposed by this title or the payment thereof shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be guilty of a felony. . .” The penalties for tax evasion can include significant monetary fines, imprisonment, or both.

To establish a case of tax evasion, the Government must prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

Covid Related Fraud Enforcement Update

Published on: February 19, 2023 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

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 other federal agencies more time to investigate and prosecute Covid-19 fraud. It extended the statute of limitations for fraud charges involving PPP and EIDL fraud to ten years.

Basics of a Federal Criminal Appeal

Published on: February 18, 2023 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

The federal criminal appellate process begins when a person is convicted at the district court. A conviction can occur after a jury trial or after a plea of guilty.

If a person has entered in to a plea agreement, the person may have agreed to waive many of their rights to appeal.

If a person had a jury trial, there can be some issues that can be argued on appeal. The first thing that occurs after judgement/conviction, is the attorney must file a “notice of appeal” which usually must be filed within ten days following the district court’s entry of judgment. If the government is appealing the district court’s decision, a timely notice of appeal may be filed within thirty days following entry of judgment.

How can I be charged with 18 U.S. Code § 1028A Aggravated Identity Theft?

Published on: January 22, 2023 | By Conaway & Strickler, P.C.

Here is the definition from the statute, cut directly from the 11th circuit’s jury instructions:

It’s a Federal crime to commit aggravated identity theft.

The Defendant can be found guilty of aggravated identity theft only if all the following facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt: