Blog

The criminal appeals process can be complex and intimidating, especially for those facing federal charges. It's important to understand your rights throughout the process, including what standards of review apply in a federal criminal appeal. This blog will explain the different types of standard...

When an individual is charged with a federal crime, they may be able to assert an affirmative defense as part of their legal defense. An affirmative defense is an argument that a defendant can make that their actions were legally justified or excused. In this blog post, we will discuss what affir...

In many cases, federal criminal defendants have the right to appeal their conviction and/or sentence. An appeal is the legal process through which a defendant can challenge their conviction or sentence in court. Appealing a federal criminal case can be complicated and time-consuming, but it is an...

Receiving a federal grand jury subpoena can be a frightening experience, especially if you are not familiar with the federal criminal process. If you have received a grand jury subpoena, it is important that you understand your rights and obligations under the law. Read on to learn more about wha...

If you pled guilty in federal court, it's not the end of the road for your case. Depending on the circumstances, you may still have options for appealing your guilty plea and getting a new outcome in your case. Let's explore what to know about appealing a guilty plea in federal court. Understandi...

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg announced on Wednesday that his office has created a new task force to investigate and prosecute people who defrauded the federal paycheck protection program.  The new PPP fraud task force will work with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to inve...

Being arrested on a federal criminal charge is a serious matter. If you are arrested outside of the district in which the crime occurred, there are certain things you should know about what happens next. This blog post will explain how federal criminal proceedings work when you are arrested out o...

Have you been charged with a federal crime? Are you considering entering a plea in court? If so, you may have heard of the 11(c)(1)c plea. This type of plea is an agreement between a defendant and the prosecutor. It involves the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser crime or to only some of the c...

A former bookkeeper from Coral Springs was sentenced last week to 51 months in federal prison for embezzling $94,500 from her former employer, a trucking maintenance company based in Fort Lauderdale. She executed the theft through a fraud scheme that involved created fictitious vendor accounts, u...

Money laundering is a criminal activity that involves hiding or disguising the proceeds of illegal activities as legitimate funds. This practice has serious repercussions for businesses, including legal, financial and reputational risks. Legal repercussions Businesses that are caught participatin...

A former South Florida regional manager for a leading national bank was sentenced to 120 months in prison for participating in a $15 million COVID loan fraud conspiracy. The defendant, who pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitted that he and others submitted over 90 f...

As a Florida taxpayer, you should know that tax fraud is a serious offense with severe consequences. Tax fraud is any intentional act committed to avoid paying taxes owed. You need to be aware of various forms of tax fraud to avoid committing it inadvertently. Hiding income and assets can lead to...

The Biden administration announced today that it is pledging $1.6 billion for the implementation of new measures to investigate, prosecute, and prevent COVID-relief fraud. The federal government distributed more than $5 trillion in pandemic relief under programs approved by Biden and former Presi...

Thousands of individuals and businesses file for bankruptcy each year in Florida, and statistics suggest that many of them commit fraud. According to the Department of Justice, about one in 10 bankruptcy filings has fraudulent elements. When researchers from Cornell Law School looked into this is...

Two Florida men have admitted to tampering with diesel truck emissions systems in order to skirt the provisions of the 1963 Clean Air Act. The men, aged 39 and 62, entered their guilty pleas in a federal court in Miami. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida announced the pleas on...

Money laundering involves taking money procured by illegal means and moving it into a legal vehicle. The purpose centers on hiding the illegality of how those possessing the funds gained the money. Persons accused of money laundering may face serious charges in a Florida federal courtroom. The in...

A new government report released Monday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) verified that COVID-related unemployment insurance (UI) fraud topped at least $4.3 billion for the period from March 2020 to March 2022.  However, this amount does not account for potential UI fraud that ha...

Corporate and white collar crime enforcement by the U.S. Department of Justice is expected to increase in 2023, and it will increase yet more in 2024. While vowing to take a tougher stand against corporate crime, the Biden Justice Department has made it clear that its “top priority for corporate ...

Misunderstanding might exist about how federal law enforcement investigates Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations. For example, some might assume that only those involved in organized crime or substantial narcotics operations may face RICO investigations and subsequ...

Four South Florida residents were sentenced to prison on Friday for their involvement in a $28 million PPP fraud scheme.  The sentences ranged from 15 months in prison to 70 months in prison. According to the Department of Justice, one of the defendants, a tax preparer, filed around 170 fraudulen...

An attorney from Palm Beach Gardens was sentenced for COVID loan fraud last week to 41 months in federal prison. The attorney plead guilty to seeking more than $1.6 million in fraudulent forgivable Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications for c...

The high-profile fraud allegations levied at Sam Bankman-Fried have captured several news cycles. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and denied bail. News reports about the FTX cryptocurrency exchange's founder might provide insights to Florida residents wondering what constitutes criminal...

The Anti-Kickback Statute The Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), is a federal criminal law that prohibits the knowing and willful payment of any form of compensation (called “remuneration”) to induce or reward patient referrals or the generation of business involving any item or serv...

Section 924(c) of Title 18 of the United States Code is the federal statute that criminalizes using or possession of a firearm in the course of drug trafficking or some other violent crime in Florida. The statute provides for extremely harsh penalties, often imposing sentences that are far more s...

Money laundering occurs when money earned through illegal activities is put through a series of activities to hide its source of origin. For example, if a Florida drug dealer earns thousands in the sale of illicit drugs, he will not deposit that large amount of money in the bank at one time. If h...