If you have been charged with committing a federal crime, it is important to understand that you have been charged with some of the most serious criminal offenses in our legal system. As such, choosing an attorney is not as simple as picking any local Raleigh, NC lawyer to handle your traffic ticket.
Rather, you need a passionate attorney who is personally committed and invested in you and your case. When Parrott Law PLLC represents a client, we are in it with you for the long haul. Let us show you how passionate we are to defending the rights of those who are charged with committing a federal crime. Contact us for a free case evaluation.
White Collar Crime
If you have been charged with a financial crime, such as tax evasion, embezzlement, insider trading, insurance fraud, bribery, or money laundering, you need a committed attorney who will investigate the facts and provide you with the strongest possible defense. Most white collar crimes are investigated and prosecuted by federal law enforcement personnel. This is bad news for the accused, as conviction rates are high in the federal system, and the U.S. District Attorney’s Offices have a wealth of resources available to them to prosecute you.
The majority of defendants in the federal criminal justice system receive a target letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office stating that they are the target of a federal criminal investigation prior to being formally charged. If you receive a target letter, it will give you a broad sense of which area of federal criminal law is being investigated and seek your cooperation. Before you receive the letter, you will have already been contacted by a federal agent with the FBI, ATF, DEA, Medicare, Medicaid, IRS, and/or DHS. They will have shown up at your house, usually unannounced, either early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and asked permission to come in to talk.
This is the point at which you need an attorney. Tell the federal agents that you would like to cooperate with them, but that the decision whether to cooperate is an important one, and you would like to consult an attorney before making it. They should terminate the conversation immediately to allow you to contact an attorney. If they do not, consider asking them whether you are under arrest. If they say “no,” politely let them know that you would like to end your conversation with them at that time so that you may consult an attorney before proceeding. Try to avoid being rude or antagonizing them, but be firm.
You can have Parrott Law PLLC by your side throughout the entire process. Whether you choose to hire us or another law firm, it is vitally important that you hire an attorney during the early stages of an investigation. At Parrott Law PLLC, we understand that comprehending all of the financial data relevant to your case is essential in order to have the charges against you dismissed or reduced. We have the experience and training necessary to break down complex financial problems into manageable pieces, and we will provide relentless representation to defend the rights of those accused of white collar financial crimes.
Civil Forfeiture
Civil forfeiture is a process by which the government can take and sell your property without convicting you of a crime or paying just compensation. Unfortunately, the government is often incentivized to conduct civil asset forfeiture proceedings because, when they take and sell your property, they typically get to keep the proceeds – or a large portion thereof – for their own use. If the government has seized your assets through a civil forfeiture proceeding, recovering those assets requires an attorney who is capable of acting quickly and decisively. Our team will put together a comprehensive plan that gets you from A to Z, covering every angle of a civil forfeiture case. Contact us if the government has taken your property or is threatening to do so. We look forward to taking quick and decisive action on your behalf.
RICO
Racketeering involves operating an illegal business for profit or running a fraudulent enterprise. RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, makes it a crime to belong to an ongoing criminal organization, whether the government can prove you personally committed a crime or not.
The consequences of a RICO conviction include significant fines, long-term prison sentences and probation. Additionally, convictions may require a defendant to make restitution payments to victims and forfeit assets.
The significant punishments of a RICO conviction underscore the importance of finding a Raleigh, NC attorney who is truly committed to passionately representing your case. Our attorneys pore over every detail of your case to ensure you receive the legal representation you deserve in such an important case.
Tax Crimes
Our law firm provides essential criminal defense for federal tax crime charges. These white-collar violations may require extensive IRS investigations and lengthy proceedings, so choose an attorney who is committed for the long haul. Our team at Parrott Law PLLC is committed to doing just that, and we look forward to representing you after talking through your case via a free case evaluation.
Drug Trafficking
Federal drug trafficking requires the help of a committed attorney as soon as possible. The grand jury investigation process can be as perilous as the federal criminal trial, which is why you need professional representation as soon as you are charged with drug trafficking.
A first offense carries a penalty of not less than 5 years, underscoring just how high the stakes are in these cases. Contact us for a case evaluation to see why Parrott Law PLLC is uniquely suited to help your case.
How do I choose a good federal criminal defense lawyer?
When choosing a criminal defense lawyer, steer clear of the attorney who quotes you a price right off the bat. Take your time with this important decision and choose the lawyer who listens to you, answers your questions, and provides you the most–and most helpful–information about your case.
In addition, your criminal defense lawyer should be trustworthy, reliable, accessible, and a source of honest and straightforward legal advice. You should feel comfortable confiding in your lawyer and confident that he will help you evaluate the legal options that are available to you, provide pertinent information in a timely manner, and develop creative strategies to resolve your case.
What should I do if I’m being investigated by the federal government for a crime?
The first two things you should do are to exercise your constitutional right to remain silent, and immediately contact a defense lawyer. Here’s why: finding out that you are involved in a federal investigation can be very frightening. For many people, this fear leads them to make poor decisions that have a negative impact on their case. For example, you might feel compelled to defend yourself or lie to a federal investigator, destroy or modify documents that appear to incriminate you, or confide in a friend or relative about your case–all of which can get you in significantly more trouble than you started. Your attorney will advise you on who to talk to and what to say so that you can cooperate with federal law enforcement agencies without compromising your constitutional rights.
Should I accept a plea bargain?
You–and every other person accused of a crime–have just two options: plead guilty or go to trial. In order to make that choice, the first thing you should do is go through each of the elements of each crime you are charged with, and ask yourself what evidence the government will offer in order to prove that element. If it looks like the government won’t be able to prove its case, you should consider pleading not guilty.
If, on the other hand, it looks like the government can prove its case, you need to consider your exposure. In other words, if you think the government has a 75% chance of winning at trial and your exposure if you lose is 10 years, your expected outcome is 7.5 years (10 years x 75% = 7.5 years). You then need to weigh that expected outcome against the plea offer. If the government is offering you a plea bargain that would likely result in a sentence that is less than 7.5 years, you should consider taking it. If the plea offer would result in a sentence that is greater than 7.5 years, you should consider going to trial.
There are situations in which you may want to work out a plea deal before you have an opportunity to do that math. However, in most cases, you will want to review the government’s evidence against you before you decide whether to accept a plea bargain or not.
Will my case go to trial?
Although the vast majority of cases are ultimately resolved through plea bargaining, you should assume that your case is going to trial until and unless the plea bargain you want is in place. A good criminal defense lawyer’s starting point is to analyze the government’s evidence against you in light of each element of each of your charges. That is usually a good starting point because it helps you determine whether you are going to be able to negotiate from a position of strength. This analysis, which criminal defense attorneys are uniquely qualified to do, underscores the importance of retaining a criminal defense attorney as early as possible because pretrial negotiations often play a substantial role in the resolution of a criminal case.
Have my rights been violated?
Even if there is a mountain of evidence against you, you may still be able to win at trial if that evidence was obtained illegally. For example, the Fourth Amendment requires an investigator to prove probable cause and obtain a warrant before searching or seizing your property. However, many people don’t realize that they can refuse a search if there isn’t a warrant. At Parrott Law PLLC, protecting our clients’ rights is our top priority. If you believe your rights have been violated, please give us a call to set up a free and confidential case evaluation.
