Category: Federal Criminal Defense
There are many alarming statistics about identity theft and the rapid growth of the crime. A recent Today.com story stated about 13.1 million Americans were victims of ID thefts in 2013. The figure was 500,000 more Americans than in 2012. A report released by Javelin Strategy & Research, found somebody becomes a victim of identity…
Human trafficking is described by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as “one of the most heinous crimes” that it investigates. It’s also big business in Texas. In a recent report, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center revealed Texas remained number two in the country in 2013 in terms of the number of calls placed…
Fraud can take many forms in Texas, ranging from multi-million dollar white collar crimes to one woman workers’ compensation scams. In a recent case a woman was sentenced to four years in prison for taking part in workers’ compensation fraud. The Bexar County 379th District Court recently convicted Lakeisha Stevens of San Antonio, Texas of…
A recent sentencing in Texas demonstrates the stiff penalties that can face those accused of distributing child pornography online. The Dallas Morning News reported on how a sex offender from Arlington was sentenced to 40 years in prison on November 15, 2013, after he admitted sharing child pornography online. Recently we noted how the FBI…
New technology changes rapidly and so do crimes associated with it. In a recent report MSN.com reported on how the FBI has added five alleged cybercriminals to its “most wanted” list. They include a former San Diego college student who developed a program called “Loverspy” or “Email PI.” The operation is said to have been…
Those who seek sex with children may be prosecuted at a federal level in the future if a bill introduced in Congress last week becomes law. In the wake of an FBI operation that rescued over 100 children from sex trafficking, Texas Rep. Ted Poe formally announced new legislation to help end what he termed…
The arrest of a man described by the authorities as a member of the Bloods gang in Galveston, Texas, has once again highlighted the issue of organized crime in the state. According to the Houston Chronicle, Christopher Mason, 38, was described as a “career violent offender” and a gang member. He was arrested on the…
Texas, with its multi-million dollar oil and gas industry, sees a number of high profile white collar crime investigations every year. According to the U.S Department of Justice, four executives from Provident Royalties, Inc. have been sentenced in connection with a massive oil and gas investment fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas. The…
Medicaid and Medicare fraud has made headlines recently after Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a series of bills to step up state enforcement and investigations into bad practices in the healthcare field. The legislation is also intended to set up procedural safeguards for health providers accused of wrongdoing. The new laws broaden the definition of…
White collar crimes aren’t always associated with long prison sentences which are traditionally reserved for violent crimes such as rape or murder. But increasingly prosecutors are using federal sentencing guidelines to put more non-violent offenders behind bars for long periods, Forbes magazine reported in a recent feature. The article looked at the conviction of Christian…