The US Department of Justice outlines a procedure to dispose of excess prescription drugs safely and legally.  You may request a special agent that works in the area to assist you in disposing of the controlled substance.

The first step in the process will be to fill out DEA Form 41 and submit it to the applicable DOJ office that serves that area.  Alternatively, you may submit a letter stating the nature and quantity of the substance, how that substance was obtained and who it was obtained from if applicable.  You will need to submit three copies of this letter before the DOJ agent will decide on how the materials can be disposed of legally.

At the discretion of the special agent, you may have to pass the controlled substance to an authorized person, delivery it to the agent or destroy it with supervision.  This ensures that you will face no legal liability for those prescription drugs should they fall into the wrong hands or cause other injury.

If you are facing fines or other sanctions for the improper disposal of prescription drugs, a New York drug diversion lawyer will inform you of your rights and help you determine the extent of your legal liability.

To set up a consultation, contact our lawyers at (212) 577-6677 immediately.

Most people will inevitably make a mistake and pass a bad check at some point in life.  You can avoid this by maintaining a transaction register and not relying on “bank float” to cover the check while you anticipate another check to clear.  Repeated passing of bad checks will raise the suspicion of authorities and is against the law.

Criminals pass multiple bad checks with the intent to defraud the recipient, usually using the check to obtain something of value.  Although some states make distinction between those that pass a bad check “with intent to defraud,” other states will regard such actions as misdemeanor.

Persistently passing bad checks may lead to penalties as high as a felony, depending on the laws of your state.  State laws also allow for civil remedies for those that have received a bad check.  Every state has a different civil law and New York’s law allows “face value of check, plus two times amount of check up to $750” to be collected from the writer of the check.

The criminal penalty for passing a bad check in New York State may involve jail time and you may be forced to pay double the value of the bad check.  If you have been investigated for passing bad checks in New York, you will want to speak with a New York criminal defense lawyer. 

Mounting a legal defense can prevent you from receiving a criminal record of impacting your credit worthiness.

To speak with our lawyers, contact us as (212) 577-6677 without delay.

Check kiting is the practice of carefully manipulating the balance of a bank account by floating checks that inflate the balance of those accounts.  This is used to deceive another party into obtaining something of value, such as a loan.  Inevitably those perpetrating check kiting schemes intend to defraud the financial institution by taking advantage of typical bank functions, such as “floating” funds to cover checks deposited.

Check floating is taking advantage of delays in processing payments, such as anticipating a payment will be made after funds are made available.  This is not illegal, but you will be penalized by the financial institution with overdraft fees if you anticipate wrongly and are unable to cover the balance.  Those with an existing relationship with the financial institution that is aware the process for floating checks can exploit this knowledge to defraud the institution.

Check kiting is carried out by writing a check for greater than the balance of one account and then writing a second check from another account to cover the check from the first account.  The float allows the check to be cleared, even though the accountholder does not actually have the funds.  While this can be as innocuous as writing a personal check while anticipating your paycheck will cover it, it can also be as insidious as obtaining secret loans to misappropriating funds.

If you have engaged in check kiting, the criminal penalty varies depending on the number of checks passed and the amount subject to the fraud.

For an evaluation of your legal options, contact our New York City criminal defense lawyers at (212) 577- 6677 without delay.

Like all schemes that aim to separate a mark from their personal property, telemarketing schemes are illegal and are subject to laws against fraud, in addition to federal laws relating to fraud over electronic communication.  The most typical telemarketing fraud involves fake charities or fraudulent business propositions.  Although these schemes have been largely eclipsed by internet “419” email scams, the penalties for such crimes are no lesser for so-called “confidence men” and fraudsters.

The typical elements of telemarketing fraud include the perpetrator of the scam posing as a legitimate business or charity.  The fraudster will then either request a down payment for a business transaction or donation for the fake charity.

Perpetrators of telemarketing scams, when discovered by the authorities, will often face money laundering, tax evasion, fraud allegations and a host of other financial crimes.  Misappropriating funds intended for charity through diversion also carries federal penalties.

The Federal Trade Commission investigates possible charity fraud and generally monitors financial transactions, either through verified complaints or patterns of suspicious behavior to stop telemarketing fraud.  It is generally inevitable that a telemarketing scheme will be discovered, its accounts frozen and its perpetrators prosecuted.

If you are suspected of involvement in telemarketing fraud or other schemes to defraud in New York, a New York white collar criminal defense lawyer will be invaluable at mounting a legal defense.  To speak with our NYC criminal lawyers, call us today at 212-577-6677.

Many Americans feel that having foreign bank accounts is a “tax haven” to protect his or her own money from being reported to the IRS during filing tax season or feel that foreign bank secrecy policies can help them hide financial information from the US government. There are a number of foreign banks such as the Swiss Bank, offers secrecy and “tax havens” but it does not protect clients all the times.

Under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970, foreign institutions can cooperate with the US government to provide foreign bank account information if the US government has legitimate reasons, such as criminal investigations.

Some common criminal investigations include Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, Black market operations and many more. According to US Department of Treasury, Switzerland and the United States cooperated on an agreement in an effort to fight against these illicit activities in 2003. Swiss banks will turn over information if it finds any type of suspicious fraudulent activities.

With cooperation, financial institutions usually provide clients’ financial reports to the US government for investigations and five common types of reports include

1)    Currency Transaction Report (CTR)

2)    International Transportation of Currency or Monetary instruments (CMIR)

3)    Report on foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR)

4)    Suspicious activity reports (SAR) (A financial institution is not allowed to tell the client that a SAR report is being filed or else face penalties.

5)    Designation of exempt person report

Based on these reports, investigators will monitor cash flow, bank activities, and analyze on patterns of suspicious transactions to see if any violates U.S. federal laws. When U.S. court finds that funds are coming from criminal activities, foreign banks are required to release information on the account owner. If foreign bank officials do not disclose such information, thereby, violating the Bank Secrecy Act, they will face severe penalty fine and possible imprisonment.

If you feel that foreign banks’ secrecy policies may protect you from US. Government investigations, it is not exactly true. When you are under investigation, the US government has the right to defer foreign laws that protect your personal information.

If you feel that you are under investigation by the federal government for your overseas banking activities, call our New York City Federal Defense Attorneys immediately at (212)577-6677 for legal advice.

Over the years, there has been increasing government investigations on provider’s fraudulent activities. Under the False Claim Act, a provider who knowingly and intentionally submits false reimbursement claims to Medicaid or Medicare, government sponsored programs, is a red flag to launch a state and federal investigation. Those who violate the False Claims Act will potentially face civil and/or criminal liabilities.

What does the Government look for?

Government investigators will look for discrepancies on the overall number of claims submitted over the years in practice to infer if the claim was intentional, reckless disregard, or deliberate ignorance. The government will find out whether the provider followed steps in compliance plans and procedure for claims, whether there has been a history of previous improper billing practices and many more.

Can there be additional charges related to my case?

Providers may be additionally charged with false records, false statements, conspiracy, and/or even mail fraud and wire fraud. Each of these charges has its specific punishments and is usually related to violating of the False Claims Act.

Penalties?

According to United States Code, Title 31.3729 and 28 C.F.R. 85.3, each false claim submitted will be charged with a penalty ranging from $5,500 to $11,000 and three times for damage fee to the federal government. This penalty amounts to a substantial and financially crippling punishment fee.

If you feel that you are being investigated by the government for healthcare fraud in New York, please call our NYC criminal lawyers at (212) 577-6677 for an immediate consultation.

The short answer is yes. One of the principles of federal conspiracy is that you can be held accountable for conduct of others even if you personally did not do what they did. The Supreme Court ruled  decades ago, followed by a practically all circuit courts that if a coconspirator makes a incriminating statement and then you join the conspiracy, that statement can be used against you.

Federal court in New York explained that this is so because a new recruit can be assumed to have adopted what has occurred before his or her jointing of the conspiracy.

Still the government must prove that the conspiracy actually existed when the statement was made or else it will be inadmissible  against you.

If you have been charged with conspiracy in federal court in New York, please call our New York criminal federal lawyers at (212) 577 6677 for an immediate consultation.

The short answer is yes. In certain situations federal prosecutors may have a potential grand jury witness arrested to secure his or her testimony or deposition. Under 18 USC Section 3144, the government can arrest a person whose testimony is material in a criminal proceeding, including grand jury investigations.

In order to arrest a material witness, the prosecutor needs to prepare and file an affidavit showing the probable cause that the witness’s testimony is material and that it would be impartible to simply subpoena the witness.

This, however, doesn’t give the government the right to arrest just any person they believe is a material witness and it’s more convenient for the government if the person is in custody. The law does provide certain protection for the witness. The first line of defense would be that detention is unnecessary because the witness may be easily deposed. A defense attorney will file a motion asking the court to order the deposition, preventing the arrest. If the witness has already been arrested, he may be in custody only as long as it takes for the deposition to be done, and the burden is put on the government to assure that the deposition takes place as soon as possible. The government actually must explain to the judge every two weeks why any material witness held over 10 days has not been deposed yet.

Can The Witness Bail Out?

Yes. A material grand jury witness who has been detained pending his deposition or testimony is entitled to a bail hearing. Whether or not bail will be granted is a different story, depending on the particular details of the case. If the witness is a high flight risk with little or no ties to the community, there is a good possibility that the court will deny bail.

How Long May The Government Detain The Witness?

This issue has been routinely raised in federal courts. In New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled permissible a 20 days detention between the defendant’s arrest and his first grand jury appearance, but that can vary depending on the circumstances of the case.

If you face federal grand jury investigation in New York whether as a target or material witness, be sure to contact our New York federal criminal lawyers at (212) 577-6677 for an immediate consultation.

The use of a stolen or misplaced credit card is credit card fraud and may be prosecuted under federal identity theft and fraud statutes.  Credit card fraud committed by stolen credit card usually entails making large purchases before the credit card holder is aware that the card is missing.

In recent times, credit card fraud is detected by financial institutions by flagging suspicious transactions, placing temporary holds on accounts, contacting cardholders and adding security credentials to prevent fraud through online transactions.  Additionally, suspicious transactions and lost cards can be reported through a hotline to the financial institution.

The punishment for using someone else’s credit card is found in US Code, Title 18, Section 1029 and other statutes. If found guilty, the defendant will face prison time and restitution. There is a two year mandatory minimum for aggravated identity theft.

The range in sentencing for credit card fraud accounts for the nature of the crime, amount of financial damage and other variable factors.  This can also work in your favor when you have a New York criminal defense lawyer to organize your defense.

To set up an immediate consultation, contact us at (212) 577 6677 so that you may learn about your potential legal options.

Any doctor that deals with pain management will inevitable invite scrutiny from the government.  Recent initiatives against drug diversion, particularly against pain medication abuse and methamphetamines production are the reason for this scrutiny.  Keeping accurate records, adhering to a strong standard of professional ethics and proper disposal of prescription drugs and other controlled substances are essential to avoid harassment from the government.

Good records are critical in an investigation.  In your records, you will need to account for what was prescribed, why it was prescribed and the amount that was prescribed.  Failure to account for prescribed drugs will lead to not just harassment, but likely an investigation, if patients are found to have abused the mis-prescribed drugs.

Intimidation will also constitute a major portion of harassment from the government.  Although this is not the case with all federal investigations, there is the chance that an over-zealous DEA investigation will inevitably ensnare innocent doctors.

Anytime you face a government (or insurance) investigation of your pain management practice, you will need legal counsel to inform you on your rights and prevent you from implicating yourself in wrongdoing.  The penalties for drug diversion are severe and having legal counsel advising you will give you peace of mind and avoid criminal penalties.

To contact our New York and New Jersey drug diversion defense lawyers, call us at (212) 577-6677 for an immediate consultation.