Fighting Complex Federal Mail and Wire Fraud Cases in New York

Fighting Complex Federal Mail and Wire Fraud Cases in New York

Mail and wire fraud cases can be incredibly complex to fight in federal court, especially in New York. As a hub of financial activity, New York sees more than its fair share of these types of cases. Luckily, experienced white collar criminal defense attorneys in New York have a lot of expertise in fighting back against mail and wire fraud charges.

The Basics of Mail and Wire Fraud

Mail and wire fraud laws are incredibly broad federal statutes that prosecutors often use aggressively. The laws basically make it a crime to devise any scheme to defraud someone out of money or property using the mail or electronic communications. So things like email, phone calls, faxes, and even a FedEx package could lead to charges. There doesn’t need to be an actual loss of money or property, just an intent to defraud.

Prosecutors often stack mail and wire fraud charges on top of other white collar offenses like securities fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and more. The penalties can be severe – up to 20 years in prison per count. And you can rack up many counts very easily by sending multiple emails or packages. So the stakes are high when facing these charges.

Fighting Back in Federal Court

When charged with mail or wire fraud, the first thing you need is an experienced federal criminal defense lawyer. Fighting these cases requires understanding complex financial transactions and corporate structures. You need someone able to analyze the prosecution’s legal theories and evidence to poke holes in their case. A strong defense requires strategic motions to dismiss, using motions in limine to block prejudicial evidence, and more.

One key defense strategy is attacking the technical elements of mail and wire fraud:

• Was there truly an intent to defraud? Maybe the transactions were legitimate business deals that went bad.
• Were the mail and wire communications just incidental to the supposed fraud scheme instead of central to carrying it out?
• Is the prosecution claiming routine business communications as part of the “scheme to defraud”? Things like routine emails can’t automatically turn a breach of contract into fraud.

You also need to analyze if there are any jurisdictional or statute of limitations issues. For example, if any key parts of the alleged scheme took place outside of the five-year statute of limitations window, those counts could potentially be dismissed. And if core actions and transactions took place overseas instead of in New York, there could be jurisdictional challenges to certain charges.

Sentencing Considerations in Fraud Cases

If facing conviction on mail or wire fraud charges, skilled criminal defense lawyers will make every effort to minimize sentencing exposure. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the biggest factor is the total financial loss attributed to the “fraud scheme” by prosecutors. The higher this dollar figure, the longer the recommended prison sentence. Your legal team will aggressively fight back against inflated loss claims. We’ll retain forensic accountants and other financial experts to analyze the transactions and challenge the prosecution’s numbers. Even reductions of a few million dollars in alleged losses can make a huge difference at sentencing.

Other important sentencing factors in fraud cases include:

• The defendant’s role – leaders and organizers typically face longer sentences than lower-level players
• Victim impact – if there are identifiable victims who suffered major hardships, sentences tend to increase
• Abuse of trust – penalties increase if the defendant abused a position of trust like company executive, lawyer, stockbroker, etc.
• Past criminal record – first-time offenders generally receive lower sentences

Skilled federal fraud lawyers will present all mitigating evidence to try to convince the judge to go below the sentencing guidelines. This includes gathering letters of support from family, friends, business associates, charity organizations, and others to show the positive impact you’ve made in your community.

The Bottom Line

Facing federal fraud charges is scary. But an experienced legal team can help mount an aggressive defense, seeking dismissals of charges whenever possible. And if the case does go to trial or ends in a plea deal, skilled criminal defense lawyers will craft sentencing arguments to seek the lowest penalty allowed by law. Every complex fraud case is different, so it’s critical to have knowledgeable New York attorneys fighting for you.

Mail and Wire Fraud Laws Explained

Finding the Right White Collar Criminal Defense Attorney in New York