For a client facing federal criminal fraud charges carrying 180-years of federal imprisonment, ThePhillyLawyers secures a 10-day sentence.
Because federal investigations tend to be more extensive, and federal sentences are generally much longer, federal court is a very scary place for criminal defendants. When crimes are charged in the federal system, rather than the state system, the stakes are usually higher.
After she is charged with federal white-collar financial fraud crimes, our client “Janet’ (name changed for privacy) contacts ThePhillyLawyers. Janet is a mother of four. She has no prior record. She is a hard worker.
Janet’s job at a mortgage brokerage firm mainly consists of support work for her boss. She is not a financially sophisticated person. She follows her boss’ instructions. She does not second-guess her higher-ups. But unfortunately, her direction-following proves very dangerous when her boss’ scheme is fraudulent and violates federal law.
At her boss’ direction, Janet helps prepare mortgage and loan paperwork. Her boss uses that paperwork to secure mortgages and loans for “straw purchasers” who do not have the financial means to legitimately secure such lending. The boss not only pays the straw purchasers for their involvement, but he pays a “referral fee” when the straw purchasers refer others to participate.
When the straw purchasers default on the mortgages, the FBI investigates over several years. The FBI and U.S. Attorneys believe the loans, and supporting documentation, are inaccurate in their descriptions, sources of funds, incomes, assets, values, and borrowers’ intents. Janet, her boss, straw purchasers, and others are charged with federal crimes and arrested.
After their arrests, many of the participants blame others and minimize their own involvement. For instance, Janet’s boss inflates Janet’s role and deflates his own. He makes her the scapegoat. Others similarly recast their roles in self-serving ways.
Once we are retained, ThePhillyLawyers aggressively prepares Janet’s case for motions and for trial. Based on the unique facts and circumstances of her case, we opted for a bench trial in federal court—a rare occurrence for a federal criminal defendant.
At trial, co-defendants tried to shift blame. But with well-prepared and effective advocacy, we were able to cut through the inaccuracies to shine light on the truth. And when the federal judge understood the truth, Janet’s actual involvement was correctly put in the much smaller place that it deserved. However, the judge determined that she either did, or should have, known better so her actions violated federal law—to a much lesser extent than what the government argued for.
Leading up to trial, and afterwards, we also prepared extensively for sentencing. We assembled scores of character letters, mitigation, and compelling sentencing arguments to ensure Janet’s exposure—of 180-years imprisonment—did not become a reality. Ultimately, Janet’s sentence was only 10-days incarceration. Janet’s boss, on the other hand, was sentenced to approximately 15-years incarceration.
Janet successfully completed her 10-days incarceration on the weekends as to not interfere with her new job. She also successfully completed all other court-ordered requirements. Janet was, and is, extremely grateful to ThePhillyLawyers for our work, for our willingness to fight for her, and for the result that we secured.
The way we practice—as we share through Janet’s story—is the way to defend federal criminal cases. We investigate. We prepare. And we fight. As many wise people have said in different ways, freedom is the most precious gift in life. When freedom is threatened, or lost, due to federal or state criminal charges, the person charged needs a lawyer with experience who will invest the time, energy, and resources necessary to defend the accused.
