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You just received a letter from the Department of Justice or a United States Attorney’s Office. The letter says you are a “target” of a federal grand jury investigation. Your hands are shaking. Your mind is racing through every decision you have made in the past five years, wondering which one brought this envelope to your door.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you real information about federal target letters – not the sanitized version you find on other websites. What you are about to read will probably surprise you. The target letter sitting in front of you might actually be one of the only pieces of good news you will receive in this entire process. Let that sink in.
Most people who face federal indictment never see a target letter at all. They wake up to FBI agents at their door, or they find out they have been charged when they see their name on a press release. The fact that prosecutors sent you this letter means something. It means they want to communicate with you before they finalize charges. According to the DOJ’s own guidelines, target letters are not required by law. Prosecutors can indict you tomorrow without ever sending one. So why did they bother?
Heres the paradox nobody talks about. Receiving a target letter is terrifying, but not receiving one is often worse. The Department of Justice sends target letters when they want something from you – cooperation, a guilty plea, or information about someone higher up the chain. If they didnt want to talk, they wouldnt bother with the letter. They would just present there case to the grand jury and get an indictment.
Think about what this means. Your sitting in a window of opportunity that most federal defendants never get. The grand jury hasnt voted yet. Charges havent been filed. Your name isnt on a criminal complaint. For maybe the only time in this entire process, you have leverage.
But heres the kicker – that window is closing. Every day you wait, the prosecutors investment in your case deepens. There building their case, interviewing witnesses, gathering documents. The further along they get, the harder it becomes for them to walk away, even if your attorney presents compelling evidence of your innocence.
Lets be clear about what “target” means. The DOJ manual defines a target as “a person as to whom the prosecutor or the grand jury has substantial evidence linking them to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant.” Read that again. Substantial evidence. Putative defendant.
This isnt a fishing expedition. By the time you recieve a target letter, federal prosecutors beleive they can prove your guilty. Theyve already reviewed bank records, emails, witness statements, or whatever evidence relates to your case. The investigation has been ongoing for months, maybe years, without you knowing about it. Theyve probly talked to your employees, your business partners, maybe even your freinds. They know things about you that you dont know they know.
The letter probly tells you what crimes there investigating – wire fraud, conspiracy, tax evasion, whatever it is. It also informs you of your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and your right to an attorney. Some letters include warnings about destroying evidence. All of this is standard. What matters is what the letter dosent say: how much evidence they actualy have, who else theyve talked to, and wheather they plan to offer you a deal.
Heres a number that should terrify you: 93%. Thats the federal conviction rate. Once your actualy charged with a federal crime, the odds of walking away completly are extreemly low. Prosecutors dont bring cases they arnt confident they can win. The resources required to investigate and prosecute federal crimes are enormous, so they only move forward when they beleive the evidence is overwelming.
But heres what that number dosent tell you. That 93% includes everyone who was charged. It dosent include the cases that never became charges. It dosent include the targets who hired attorneys early, presented exculpatory evidence, and convinced prosecutors to decline prosecution. It dosent include the people who negotiated pre-indictment resolutions that avoided criminal charges entirely.
The target letter represents your chance to be in that second category. The people who got out before charges were filed. The people who used the window correctly. Every day you wait, that possiblity shrinks.
OK so heres were things get real. Theres no legal deadline for the government to indict you after sending a target letter. Experienced federal defense attorneys note that the Constitution’s speedy trial protections dont apply during investigations – cases can drag on for years. But dont confuse that with having time to figure things out.
The practical timeline is completly different from the legal one. That 30 to 45 day window people talk about isnt about the investigation – its about the grand jury presentation thats already on the calendar. Prosecutors dont send target letters and then wait around indefinately. They send them becuase there preparing to present your case to the grand jury soon. There giving you a chance to respond before they do.
Once that presentation happens, your charged. And once your charged, everything changes. Pre-indictment negotiation leverage disappears. The prosecutor has now publically committed to the case. There reputation is on the line. Walking it back becomes politicaly impossible. Even if your attorney later discovers evidence that should have prevented charges, the prosecutor will often push forward rather then admit they made a mistake.
Your instinct right now is probly to take a breath. Gather your thoughts. Figure out whats happening before you do anything. That instinct is wrong.
Federal defense practitioners describe the “wait and see” approach as “fatal.” Thats not exaggeration. Heres why it destroys cases.
Prosecutors have a psychology. Early in an investigation, they havnt invested much. The case is one of many on there desk. Dropping it or reducing charges costs them nothing. But as time passes and they invest more resources – interviewing witnesses, reviewing documents, presenting to the grand jury – the political and psychological cost of backing down increases. There ego gets involved. There reputation gets involved. There supervisors start asking about the case.
The target letter arrives BEFORE there fully invested. Every day you wait, there commitment deepens. By the time you hire an attorney two weeks later, the prosecutor may have already presented half the case to the grand jury. By the time your attorney contacts them three weeks later, theyre annoyed that you didnt respond sooner. By week four, there ready to indict and have no interest in negotiating. By week five, your being arraigned.
If you wait more than 72 hours to contact a federal criminal defense attorney, you are actively harming your case.
Todd Spodek has handled hundreds of federal cases over his career. Hes seen clients who contacted him within 24 hours of recieving there target letter avoid indictment entirely. Hes also seen clients who waited “to see what happens” end up with federal prison sentences that could have been avoided or reduced. The difference isnt luck. Its timing.
Lets talk about grand jury testimony, becuase alot of people think they can just explain there side of the story. Look – I get it. Your innocent, or you beleive your conduct wasnt criminal, or you think if the prosecutors just heard your perspective they would understand.
Heres the reality. As experienced attorneys explain, grand jury testimony is described as “high-risk” for a reason. When you walk into that grand jury room, your attorney cannot come with you. There is no judge present to oversee the proceedings. There is no cross-examination. The prosecutor can ask you anything they want, in any order, and your sitting there alone trying to remember details from events that happened months or years ago.
And heres the thing – everything you say becomes evidence. If you misremember a date, thats a potential false statement. If you say something that contradicts what a witness told them, thats evidence of consciousness of guilt. If you get nervous and stumble over your words, the prosecutor can characterize that as evasiveness. If you say “I dont recall” too many times, the prosecutor can argue your being deliberately unhelpful.
Many experienced federal criminal defense attorneys recommend their clients NOT testify before the grand jury, period.
You can invoke your Fifth Amendment privilege. The grand jury will decide wheather your invocation is legitimate, but in most cases, staying silent is safer then trying to explain yourself in a setting designed completly for the prosecution’s benefit. The grand jury exists to decide wheather there is probable cause to charge you – not to determine your innocence. You cannot win in that room. You can only lose.
Some target letters offer you the opportunity to come in for a “proffer session” – sometimes called a “queen for a day” meeting. This sounds appealing. You get to tell your side of the story with some protection. The government agrees not to use your statements directly against you. What could go wrong?
Everything. Heres what they dont tell you. While the government cant use your exact words against you, they can use everything you say to find other evidence. If you mention a document, they can subpoena it. If you mention a conversation, they can interview the other person. If you contradict yourself later – at trial, for example – they can use the proffer to impeach you.
Proffer sessions can be valuable. Sometimes there exactly what you need to demonstrate your innocence or to begin cooperation negotiations. But they require careful preperation and stratagy. Walking into a proffer session without understanding the governments case, without knowing what evidence they have, without a clear objective – thats how people destroy there own defenses.
This is the question nobody wants to think about. Should you cooperate with the federal investigation against you? Should you offer to help them prosecute someone else in exchange for leniency?
The answer depends entirely on your specific situation, and its not something you can figure out alone. But heres what you need to understand about cooperation.
Federal prosecutors love cooperators. Cooperators help them build bigger cases, catch bigger fish, and make there conviction statistics look even more impressive. In exchange, cooperators can recieve dramtic reductions in there sentences – sometimes avoiding prison entirely. The government has formal mechanisms for this: proffer agreements, cooperation agreements, and ultimately Section 5K1.1 motions that allow judges to sentence below mandatory minimums.
But cooperation is permanant. Once you start down that path, theres no going back. You have to tell the truth about everything – not just the things that help the government, but everything they ask. If you lie about anything, even something minor, the cooperation agreement is void and they can use all your statements against you. You become a witness, which means you may have to testify against people you know. And cooperators are not exactly popular in federal prison if thats were you end up.
The decision to cooperate should never be made without an attorney who understands both the upside and the risks. Some clients are perfect candidates for cooperation. Others are not. The worst thing you can do is start cooperating without understanding what your getting into.
Ive watched people make these mistakes. There permanent.
Talking to the agents. The letter probly has a phone number and tells you to contact the prosecutor. Do not call that number yourself. Anything you say will be used against you. The agents are trained to make you feel comfortable, to get you talking, to get you to make admissions you dont even realize your making.
Talking to anyone else. Your spouse, your business partner, your best friend – if there connected to the investigation, anything you tell them can become evidence. They can be subpoenaed. They can be threatened with charges unless they cooperate. Only speak with your attorney.
Destroying evidence. If you delete emails, shred documents, or tell someone else to do it, you have now committed obstruction of justice – a seperate federal crime that can add years to your sentence. Even if you were innocent of the original allegations, destroying evidence makes you guilty of a new crime.
Making false statements. Under 18 U.S.C. 1001, making false statements to federal agents carries up to 5 years in prison. Martha Stewart didnt go to prison for insider trading – she went to prison for lying about allegations she was eventualy aquitted of. The cover-up became the crime.
Hiring the wrong attorney. Your divorce lawyer is not equiped to handle federal criminal investigations. Your real estate attorney is not going to help you negotiate with AUSAs. Federal criminal defense is a specialization. Prosecutors know immediatly when they’re dealing with an attorney who dosent understand federal practice. It effects how they treat the case.
Waiting to see what happens. Already covered this, but its worth repeating. Waiting is not a strategy. Its surrender.
Trying to fix it yourself. Dont contact witnesses to “get your stories straight.” Dont try to explain things to the prosecutor directly. Dont write letters protesting your innocence. Every one of these actions can become evidence of obstruction or consciousness of guilt.
OK so your thinking – what can an attorney actualy do at this stage? More then you might expect.
First, your attorney can contact the prosecutor and establish that you have counsel. This matters. Once the government knows your represented, they typically agree not to arrest you by surprise at your home or workplace. If charges are coming, you can arrange a dignified surrender instead of being handcuffed in front of your family or colleagues.
Second, your attorney can negotiate. Experienced federal defense attorneys have avoided criminal charges in substantial numbers of cases through early intervention. Sometimes this means presenting exculpatory evidence the prosecutor hasnt seen. Sometimes it means negotiating a “proffer” session were you can present your side with limited immunity. Sometimes it means working out a pre-indictment plea agreement that avoids the grand jury entirely.
Third, your attorney can advise you on wheather cooperation makes sense. If your a small player in a larger conspiracy, cooperating against the bigger fish might be your best path. But this decision requires understanding the governments case, the potential sentences your facing, and the risks of cooperation. You cant make this decision intelligently without experienced counsel.
Fourth, your attorney can begin preparing your defense immediatly. Even if charges are inevitable, the work done now – preserving evidence, identifying witnesses, understanding the governments theory – will make the eventual defense stronger. Time is an asset. Dont waste it.
At Spodek Law Group, we see these cases constantly. The clients who come to us early – within days of recieving there target letter – consistantly have better outcomes then those who wait. Not becuase we’re magic, but becuase timing matters. The window exists. We know how to use it.
Heres exactly what you need to do.
Hours 1-24: Contact a federal criminal defense attorney. Not tomorrow. Not after the weekend. Today. Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free. The cost of waiting isnt.
Hours 24-48: Gather documents. Your attorney will need the target letter, any related correspondence, and any documents that might be relevant. Dont review them yourself trying to figure out what matters – just gather everything.
Hours 48-72: Meet with your attorney. Be completly honest. Tell them everything, even the things that look bad. Attorney-client privilege protects your communications. Your attorney can only help you if they know the full picture.
This is what Spodek Law Group exists for – to get involved before the damage is done. Todd Spodek built his reputation on exactly these cases. We understand the 30-45 day window. We understand prosecutor psychology. We understand how to turn a target letter from the worst news of your life into the beginning of your defense.
The federal criminal justice system is designed to convict. Once you enter it, the machinery works against you. But right now, at this moment, you have not entered it yet. The target letter is your warning – and your opportunity. Use it.
Dont wait.
Very diligent, organized associates; got my case dismissed. Hard working attorneys who can put up with your anxiousness. I was accused of robbing a gemstone dealer. Definitely A law group that lays out all possible options and best alternative routes. Recommended for sure.
- ROBIN, GUN CHARGES ROBIN
NJ CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS