Chicago, Illinois Federal Target Letters

| by Max Soni

Last Updated on: 5th October 2025, 10:54 am

The grand jury meets Thursday at 2 PM to vote on your indictment. If you received a target letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, they’ve already presented evidence to the grand jury for months, interviewed dozens of witnesses, and obtained your financial records through subpoenas you never knew existed. Under the U.S. Attorneys’ Manual § 9-11.151, “target” means the prosecutor believes you committed the crime and has substantial evidence to prove it. Not “person of interest,” not “subject” – target. The Department of Justice convicts 97.3% of defendants once indicted. Of those who receive target letters, approximately 95% get indicted within 60 days. The letter’s “invitation” to meet with prosecutors isn’t an opportunity to explain – it’s evidence gathering for counts they haven’t charged yet.

Thursday’s grand jury vote isn’t the beginning of your case – it’s nearly the end of the government’s investigation. They’ve been building this case for 6-18 months before sending the target letter. FBI agents have interviewed your former employees, IRS agents analyzed five years of tax returns, and financial analysts traced every wire transfer. The target letter is courtesy notice that the freight train is about to hit. By law, they don’t even have to send it – many districts don’t. When they do, it means they’re confident enough to give you advance warning and still expect conviction.

Asset Forfeiture Starts Before Indictment

Within days of indictment, the government will file civil forfeiture complaints against everything they claim is connected to the alleged crime. Under 21 U.S.C. § 853 for drug cases or 18 U.S.C. § 982 for fraud, they’ll freeze:

• Bank accounts (all of them, even unrelated ones)
• Real estate (your home, investment properties)
• Vehicles
• Life insurance policies with cash value
• Retirement accounts (though ERISA provides some protection)
• Business interests

The standard for freezing assets is probable cause – far lower than conviction. You’ll need court permission to pay your attorney, access money for living expenses, or operate your business. The government becomes your financial overseer while presuming your innocence.

The Proffer Session Trap

Your target letter might suggest a “proffer session” or “Queen for a Day” meeting. This sounds like an opportunity to cooperate for leniency. In reality, it’s usually a trap. Here’s how it works:

You get limited immunity – your exact words in that room can’t be used against you. But everything else can. You describe your conduct thinking you’re helping yourself. Prosecutors use that information to:

• Find evidence they wouldn’t have discovered
• Identify witnesses they didn’t know about
• Understand your defense strategy
• Lock you into a version of events

If you deviate from your proffer at trial, they’ll use it to destroy you on cross-examination. If you refuse to testify after proffering, judges instruct juries they can draw negative inferences. The “immunity” protects your words but not the evidence those words help them find.

Statistics from SDNY and DDC show less than 20% of targets who proffer avoid indictment. Of those indicted after proffering, sentences average 15% longer due to obstruction enhancements when stories change between proffer and trial.

Parallel Civil Proceedings Double Jeopardy

If your case involves securities, healthcare, or taxes, you’re facing parallel civil and criminal investigations. The SEC, FTC, IRS, or HHS conducts civil proceedings simultaneously with DOJ criminal prosecution. They share everything but follow different rules:

Civil proceedings:

• Broader discovery (depositions, interrogatories)
• Lower burden of proof (preponderance)
• No Fifth Amendment protection without adverse inference
• Immediate asset freezes
• Industry bans before conviction

Criminal proceedings:

• Limited discovery
• Higher burden (beyond reasonable doubt)
• Fifth Amendment protection
• Constitutional trial rights
• Prison sentences

You can’t coordinate defenses. Asserting Fifth Amendment in SEC proceedings essentially admits liability. Testifying in civil proceedings provides DOJ with free discovery. The civil agency feeds DOJ information while you’re handicapped by criminal procedure protections.

Target vs. Subject vs. Witness – Critical Distinctions

USAM 9-11.151 defines three categories:

Target: Prosecutor has substantial evidence of your guilt and plans to indict Subject: Your conduct is within scope of investigation but charging decision unmade Witness: You have information but aren’t suspected of wrongdoing

Target letters sometimes deliberately obscure your status. “You may be a witness, subject, or target” means target. If you were just a witness, they’d say so. Subjects become targets 70% of the time based on their response to initial contact.

The letter won’t specify which federal statutes you allegedly violated, but common ones include:

• 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (wire fraud – 20 years)
• 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements – 5 years)
• 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy – 5 years)
• 26 U.S.C. § 7201 (tax evasion – 5 years)

Each email, phone call, or document can be a separate count. Ten emails about one transaction become ten counts of wire fraud.

The Response Letter That Becomes Evidence

Your attorney will likely write a response letter to the prosecutor. This letter becomes evidence. Every word gets scrutinized. Common mistakes:

• Factual assertions that prove false
• Legal arguments that preview defense strategy
• Emotional appeals that demonstrate consciousness of guilt
• Offers to cooperate that show desperation

Effective response letters are surgical – challenging legal sufficiency without revealing defense strategy. But most defense attorneys write novels explaining why their client is innocent, providing prosecutors with roadmaps for conviction.

Grand Jury Mechanics Working Against You

The grand jury has been meeting on your case for months. They know the prosecutor, trust them, and have heard only one side. Key realities:

• 16-23 citizens who’ve heard weeks of evidence against you
• No judge present
• No defense attorney allowed
• Hearsay admissible
• Prosecutor controls what evidence they see
• Standard is probable cause, not reasonable doubt
• 99.99% of federal grand juries indict when asked

If you testify at grand jury (usually a mistake), you go in alone. Your attorney waits outside. You can consult after each question, but constant interruptions annoy grand jurors. The prosecutor asks complex questions designed to trap you. Your testimony becomes trial evidence. Any inconsistency becomes obstruction of justice.

Statistical Reality of Target Letters

DOJ data from 2019-2023 shows:

• 95% of target letter recipients get indicted
• 97.3% of indictments result in conviction
• 94% of convictions come from plea agreements
• Average sentence is 37% longer for those who go to trial
• Declination (deciding not to prosecute) happens in only 3-5% of target cases

These aren’t accidents. By the time DOJ sends target letters, they’ve usually built overwhelming cases. The letter isn’t a warning shot – it’s notice that impact is imminent.

Call Now – The Grand Jury Votes in 72 Hours

212-300-5196

If your target letter is dated two weeks ago, the response deadline has passed. The prosecutor presented your non-response to the grand jury as consciousness of guilt. If it’s dated this week, you have days to influence whether indictment includes forfeiture counts, which co-defendants get charged, and whether they’ll consider pre-indictment resolution.

Asset restraining orders are prepared but not filed. Once filed, your accounts freeze within hours. Business operations halt. Employees can’t be paid. Your ability to fund defense evaporates. The time to protect assets is before indictment, not after.

Thursday’s grand jury session is scheduled. The prosecutor has blocked two hours – enough time for extensive presentation. The indictment is already drafted. The arrest warrant is prepared. The press release is written. Without intervention, you’ll be arrested within 7-10 days.