Credit Report Criminal Case.

You may wonder if you need more than one lawyer to handle these two separate issues. To answer this question, it’s important to understand what a credit-report lawyer can, and cannot, do.

A credit report is a comprehensive summary of a person’s financial history. It may (or may not) include information about employment, bank accounts, bankruptcy, tax liens, outstanding collections, civil judgments, and even criminal records. Lenders use these reports to make decisions about loans, mortgages, and insurance; landlords use them to evaluate prospective tenants; and prospective employers use them to assess job applicants. Because these reports can have such an impact, errors can cause immediate and lasting harm.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) imposes strict standards on credit reporting agencies and data furnishers to prevent these issues. The FCRA requires consumer reporting agencies to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of information in consumer reports. While disputes and appeals can be complicated, they can also provide necessary relief. Consumer reporting agencies must conduct reasonable reinvestigations of disputed information and delete information that is inaccurate or cannot be verified.

If you have reason to believe that negative information on your credit report is inaccurate, or if you are not sure how to address a consumer dispute, a credit-report attorney can provide valuable assistance. Spodek Law Group helps clients by:

• Carefully reviewing credit reports, bank reports, employment records, and other sources to identify inaccuracies and legal violations
• Assisting with the consumer dispute process to demand correction of reporting errors and ensuring reporting agencies and data furnishers comply with federal requirements
• Assessing the potential for litigation under the FCRA and other relevant consumer protection laws

While an attorney may be able to help you address errors or legal violations, it is important to understand that lawyers are unable to simply “remove” accurate adverse information from your credit report. No matter the fee, legitimate legal counsel cannot scrub a report of factual inaccuracies for the sole purpose of improving a credit score.

What Credit-Report Damage Remediation Can Involve

The credit-report damage remediation process varies depending on the facts involved. This process can involve:

Which Federal Credit-Fraud Cases Are Hardest to Defeat?

At Spodek Law Group, we represent clients facing a wide range of federal fraud and financial crime charges. At this time, we identify the following as some of the hardest to defeat:

Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343)

A wire fraud charge under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 carries up to 20 years in prison per count. Along with other fraud and financial crimes, the DOJ has recently added fraud-related crimes to the top of its priority list for prosecution and enforcement. this means wire-fraud charges have become more dangerous, particularly because they overlap so often with other statutes. In general, a DOJ wire-fraud prosecution under Section 1343 must prove four elements:

• First, that you devised or attempted to devise a scheme to defraud;
• Second, that you acted with fraudulent intent;
• Third, that you used a wire transmission in order to execute that scheme; and,
• Fourth, that the communication was transmitted or caused to be transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of executing the scheme.

While these requirements can leave room for defense, they can also give federal prosecutors flexibility as well. This can make it easy to craft allegations, but just as easy for federal agents to identify communication records and other means of executing their investigations. Of course, even if the government presents evidence on these four elements, it can still face a high burden of proof. The DOJ must prove every single element beyond a reasonable doubt for its wire-fraud prosecution to result in a conviction.

Bank Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344)

Bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344 presents similar risks. If convicted, a defendant faces a sentence of up to 30 years per count. While this statute overlaps with the wire fraud statute in many cases, federal charges under the bank fraud statute have different implications depending on the facts. Section 1344 broadly covers schemes to defraud a financial institution or to obtain its property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises. Specifically, the statute applies to any scheme with the intent to:

• Defraud a financial institution,
• Defraud the owners of a financial institution, or,
• Obtain money, funds, securities, credit, or other property owned by, or under the custody or control of a financial institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or by willful representation of a material fact, or concealment of a material fact or circumstance.

What Happens After a Federal Credit-Fraud Investigation Reaches Court?

Once a federal credit-fraud investigation reaches a court, it will lead to prosecution by United States Attorneys in federal district court. This process can happen in one of two ways: the first way is that you will have already spoken to agents during an investigation; and the second way is that you will have been arrested on an indictment. It can take months or years for a federal investigation to result in an indictment. Statements that you made during the initial phases of the investigation will be important, but potentially incriminating, evidence of criminal liability during your case.

Once an indictment comes down, you will face an initial appearance, which will be presided over by a federal magistrate judge. At this appearance, the court will decide whether you should be detained or released pending trial, after considering the government’s position. A detention hearing will be scheduled if the government pursues your detention in custody.

Federal magistrate judges must assess detention based on the Bail Reform Act, and this statute favors release. In other words, you should have the opportunity to have the opportunity to establish conditions of release that assure both your appearance in court and the safety of the community. If the judge determines that no conditions will reasonably assure your appearance and the safety of the community, then the judge will order your detention. Spodek Law Group works tirelessly.

How Do Loss, Criminal History, and Guidelines Affect Federal Punishment?

The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines establish a range of potential prison time and other penalties that apply in federal criminal cases. In most criminal cases, the sentencing range depends on a defendant’s Guideline offense level and criminal-history category.

The Guidelines specify the appropriate offense level for each specific offense, or “Guideline offense level.” For instance, § 2L1.1(a)(3) generally specifies a base offense level of 12 for smuggling, transporting, or harboring an unlawful alien, while fraudulent credit-card offenses are generally sentenced under § 2B1.1, with adjustments based on loss and other offense characteristics.

Many factors can increase the applicable offense level. Factors that increase the Guidelines’ specific offense levels include “loss” and the “amount of drugs involved.” The Guidelines also outline specific circumstances that require an upward adjustment, increasing a defendant’s potential punishment.

Defendants can dispute the calculation of their Guideline offense level, and they can request a lower sentence during the sentencing hearing itself. In many cases, however, the sentencing Guidelines will increase a defendant’s exposure to federal criminal punishment. Thus, understanding how the Sentencing Guidelines apply in order to protect yourself (and your financial future) against overpunishment should be a priority.

Along with the Guidelines, defendants must address a Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”). The PSR provides the judge with a defendant’s criminal history, detailed explanations of the alleged crime, recommendations for punishment, and other pertinent information. During your federal credit-fraud case, we will work closely with prosecutors to resolve the sentencing guidelines as favorably as possible. If necessary, we will work to convince the judge to lower the offense level, or your criminal-history category, to help you avoid the maximum potential penalties under federal law.

Engaging our lawyers early in your federal credit-fraud case can put you in a better position for success. We can investigate the DOJ’s case against you and uncover weaknesses in their evidence; and, if warranted, we can work to negotiate a favorable resolution with prosecutors so you are not at risk for significant federal punishment.

How Can Inaccurate Criminal Information on a Credit Report Be Corrected Under the FCRA?

The FCRA requires consumer reporting agencies to use reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy and restricts data furnishers from reporting information they know or have reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate. In most cases, a consumer can initiate a dispute through one of these methods:

• Online, by calling the reporting agency, or,
• By sending a written dispute to the reporting agency through the mail.

The reporting agency should be able to evaluate the dispute and provide a result in most circumstances within thirty days from the date it receives notice. If deleted information is reinserted, the consumer reporting agency must notify the consumer in writing no later than five business days after the reinsertion. If deleted information is reinserted, the consumer reporting agency must notify the consumer and inform the consumer of the right to add a statement disputing the information’s accuracy or completeness.

Similar procedures apply in disputes over other types of inaccurate information. These other types of inaccuracies could include:

• Mixed files (when an agency merges a consumer’s credit report with information pertaining to another consumer),
• Cases involving identity theft,
• Misrepresented payment history,
• Misrepresented bankruptcy information,
• Misrepresented litigation or collection activity,
• Re-aged debt (when a creditor or collection agency improperly changes the reported delinquency date to extend the FCRA’s credit-reporting period), and,
• Other errors that are either not mentioned here or not yet known.

As with dispute over negative criminal information, these errors are also grounds for a dispute under the FCRA. However, errors can also be grounds for a lawsuit under the FCRA, and sometimes under other statutes as well. These other legal avenues might be necessary in cases involving:

• Denials for loans, credit cards, or other forms of consumer financing,
• Job offers, promotions, or other employment-related opportunities,
• Denial of housing or other properties,
• Severe emotional distress,
• Inappropriate media coverage or other reputational harm,

The amount of time a consumer has to initiate a credit-report dispute under the FCRA will depend upon the underlying facts and allegations involved. Consumers can contact a credit-report lawyer if they would like an evaluation regarding a possible dispute or credit-report lawsuit.

If You Want Someone to Look at Your Case

Reading about a charge is not the same as having someone read your file. Spodek Law Group keeps an attorney on call around the clock, and the first consultation costs nothing and runs as long as your questions do. The number is 888 348 8028.