NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
How long can they investigate wire fraud?
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience handling federal criminal cases. You’ve probably heard about some of our work – like representing Anna Delvey in the case that became a Netflix series, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter, or defending a businessman in a $12M Ponzi scheme who got only six months. Wire fraud cases are complicated, they take years to build, and the government has more time than you think.
Federal prosecutors can investigate wire fraud for five years from the last fraudulent act – that’s the statute of limitations under 18 U.S.C. § 3282. If your case involves a bank or financial institution, they get ten years under 18 U.S.C. § 3293. That ten-year window also applies to pandemic relief fraud now, PPP loans and EIDL loans, thanks to legislation passed in 2022. The feds don’t rush. They spend years gathering emails, wire transfers, recorded calls – building cases brick by brick while targets think they’re in the clear.
The Clock Starts When You Think It’s Over
Here’s what people miss. The statute of limitations doesn’t start when the scheme begins – it starts from the last wire transmission connected to the fraud. You sent a text message about the deal three years after you thought everything ended? That restarts the clock. One email to a co-conspirator? Five more years. The government only needs one wire communication within the limitations period to prosecute the entire scheme, even if the fraud itself stretches back a decade.
Federal prosecutors know this. They wait. They watch for that one phone call, that one wire transfer, anything electronic that touches the fraud. The Justice Manual is clear – if the prohibited use of wires happened within the statute period, prosecution is timely. Doesn’t matter that your fraud started in 2015 if you sent a relevant email in 2023.
Investigations Take Longer Than Prosecutions
The investigation phase – that’s where the government spends most of its time. Federal wire fraud investigations can run two, three, sometimes five years before charges get filed. Complex financial cases involving multiple defendants, shell companies, offshore accounts? Those take even longer. The FBI and IRS don’t announce they’re investigating you. They subpoena your bank records, talk to your business partners, analyze transaction patterns. You might not know you’re under investigation until agents knock on your door with an indictment.
During this time, prosecutors are building leverage. They flip co-conspirators, immunize witnesses, trace money through layers of transactions. Former federal prosecutors – we have them on our team – they understand how the government operates. They spend months, sometimes years, before they move. When they finally charge you, they want the case locked down.
That’s different from the statute of limitations. The statute sets the deadline for filing charges. The investigation? That can start the day after the fraud and continue right up until that deadline. Five years is a long time to gather evidence, pressure witnesses, analyze financial records. Ten years for bank fraud cases – that’s nearly a decade of investigative power.
What Extends or Pauses the Clock
Certain actions toll the statute – meaning the clock stops running. If you flee the jurisdiction to avoid prosecution, the statute pauses until you return. If you actively conceal the fraud in ways that prevent discovery, courts may apply the fraudulent concealment doctrine and extend the limitations period. The government doesn’t get unlimited time, but they get more time if you’re hiding.
Sealed indictments work the same way. Prosecutors can file charges under seal – you don’t know about them, nobody knows about them – and that stops the statute of limitations from running. The indictment exists, it’s been filed within the time limit, but it stays secret while investigators continue working. Maybe they’re trying to flip someone. Maybe they’re building a related case. Either way, the limitations period stopped when they filed under seal.
Ongoing conspiracy charges create another complication. If prosecutors charge you as part of a continuing conspiracy, they only need one overt act within the limitations period – even if the conspiracy itself ran for years. Wire fraud schemes often involve multiple people, ongoing conduct, repeated transmissions. That gives prosecutors flexibility in how they frame the timeline.
Financial Institution Cases Get Ten Years
The moment your wire fraud touches a federally insured bank, credit union, or financial institution, the statute jumps from five years to ten. This applies more often than people expect. You didn’t defraud the bank directly? Doesn’t matter. If you used wire fraud to get money from victims who then withdrew it from their bank accounts, or if the scheme involved moving money through banks in any way, prosecutors can argue for the ten-year statute under 18 U.S.C. § 3293.
Pandemic relief fraud – PPP loans, EIDL loans, emergency grants – all of that now carries a ten-year statute of limitations. Congress extended it in 2022 because many of these loans came from fintechs or non-bank lenders, which meant only five years under the wire fraud statute. That wasn’t enough time for investigators to unravel the massive fraud that happened during COVID. Now they have a full decade, same as bank fraud cases.
This matters for anyone who received pandemic relief funds and might have made misrepresentations on the applications. The government is still investigating those cases in 2025. They have until 2030 or later to file charges on loans distributed in 2020. That’s a long time to worry about a knock on the door.
When You Find Out You’re Being Investigated
Most people discover they’re under investigation in one of three ways. First – a grand jury subpoena for documents or testimony. Second – agents showing up to interview you or execute a search warrant. Third – someone you know gets charged and starts cooperating against you. By the time any of these happen, the investigation has usually been running for months or years.
That’s when you need a federal criminal defense attorney who understands wire fraud investigations – someone who’s handled these cases before, who knows how prosecutors think. At Spodek Law Group, we’ve defended clients in complex fraud cases involving international wire transfers, cryptocurrency schemes, investment fraud. Todd Spodek has many, many years of experience in federal court, and our team includes former federal prosecutors who built these cases from the government’s side.
The worst move you can make is talking to federal agents without a lawyer. They’re not there to help you. They’re gathering evidence for prosecution. Everything you say – even statements you think are helpful or explanatory – gets used to build the case against you. Agents interview witnesses to lock in their stories, create inconsistencies they can exploit later, and pressure people into cooperation deals.
Why Cases Take So Long to Develop
Wire fraud investigations drag on because prosecutors want certainty before they indict. They’re tracking financial transactions across multiple institutions, sometimes across international borders. They’re analyzing emails, text messages, recorded phone calls. They’re interviewing victims, witnesses, co-conspirators. Each piece of evidence needs authentication, analysis, incorporation into the broader theory of the case.
Complex cases involving multiple defendants take longer. The government often starts with lower-level participants – people who played smaller roles but have valuable information. They flip these witnesses through plea agreements, immunity deals, cooperation agreements. Then they work their way up to the main targets. This process can easily consume two or three years before anyone gets charged.
Meanwhile, you’re living with uncertainty. You might know you’re being investigated. You might not. The statute of limitations is ticking, but until it expires – five years or ten years depending on the case – you’re in legal limbo. That’s why having an experienced federal criminal defense lawyer matters. We can sometimes open a dialogue with prosecutors, understand the scope of the investigation, potentially resolve matters before indictment.
Our approach at Spodek Law Group is different from other law firms. We don’t take every case that walks in the door. We focus on clients we can truly help, cases where our experience and reputation make a difference. Wire fraud defense requires understanding both the substantive law and the investigation process – knowing when to fight, when to negotiate, how to challenge the government’s evidence and timeline arguments.
If you’re worried about a wire fraud investigation – whether you’ve been contacted by agents, received a subpoena, or just know that something you were involved in might be under scrutiny – time matters. The government is building its case. You should be building your defense. We’re available 24/7 to discuss your situation, and we’ve handled cases others said were unwinnable. That’s what we’re known for.