NY & NJ Criminal Defense Law Blog

In their simplest form, Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are digital representations of value that can be traded through an exchange and stored in digital wallets secured by 26-35 character long case sensitive account numbers that require a private key, similar to a password or pin to access.  Virtual currency is not legal tender issued or guaranteed by any government. Rather, its value is determined by consensus within a community of users. Since these transactions are done on the internet and through exchanges using cash, wire transfers, or credit cards to a host of web-based businesses, the purchasers’ identities and source of funds are more difficult to uncover. 

In many cases, defense attorneys utilize various experts to assist in their defense of a client. Those experts may include private investigators, forensic accountants, psychologists, DNA analysts, accident reconstruction analysis and economists. While experts can provide invaluable assistance in understanding the prosecution’s theory of the case and in analyzing and attacking the government’s evidence, special care must be taken to protect and preserve the attorney-client and work-product privileges.

The federal government has hired 300 additional prosecutors and created the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit and the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement Team to investigate, uncover, and prosecute the prescribing and dispensing of opioids by healthcare professionals – doctors and pharmacists – as well as street-level sales of opioids and fentanyl. Since January 2018, over 200 doctors have been charged. 

Stahl Criminal Defense prides itself on the detailed, exhaustively researched and nuanced sentencing presentations we make in federal and state court matters. Laura Gasiorowski, a member of the firm for 15 years, is especially gifted in working with clients and their families in crafting powerful presentations. With her background in death penalty mitigation, she is well equipped to investigate the client’s social, mental, and educational history and uncover the type of powerful mitigation evidence that often makes the difference. Knowing and understanding the Guidelines is crucial, but in addition to making the right legal arguments a sentencing memo has to individualize the client and present whatever personal characteristics, social history, or circumstances that mitigate culpability.

Recent cases continue to reveal the advancements in technology and how they are used, both properly and improperly, to track our movements, actions and private lives.

First, new cars have increasingly sophisticated technology. Roadside assistance features and other devices track our vehicles’ locations, speed and other relevant activities. Most vehicles are now equipped with Event Data Recorders, also known as a vehicle black box. Local police departments are now equipped to retrieve and analyze the black box data and use it against you in court. As of May 2018, almost all U.S. vehicles come standard with a black box installed.

In the multiple investigations surrounding the Trump presidency and his administration, former National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn, pled guilty to lying to the FBI and cooperated with the government. He cooperated ostensibly to earn a “substantial assistance letter” and downward departure motion, which is filed by the government on a defendant’s behalf to seek a sentence below the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines’ range, in this case 0 – 6 months.

Police and prosecutors around the country routinely seize and forfeit cars, boats, money, computers, guns and homes that were “used in, or facilitated, the criminal activity charged.” While many cases involve significant crimes and the forfeitures are justified, too often the person is charged with fairly low-level drug sales and their car is seized if it was used to transport the drugs during the sales. The federal and state governments argue that forfeitures are simply part of the cost of the criminal’s conduct and work as a separate fine on the illegal activity. These fines and forfeitures are often used to supplement local and state budgets, including those of the very agencies that seized and forfeited the property.

Budget cuts and a significant drop in Special Agents that investigate criminal tax crimes has led the IRS to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to uncover criminal tax activities. In a recent webcast hosted by the American Bar Association, the IRS revealed that research and investigative techniques that used to take weeks or months may now be accomplished in minutes with technology the IRS is rolling out to detect taxpayer noncompliance.

Much has been written about Paul Manafort’s conviction at his first trial, the potential decades long sentence, and his sudden plea and cooperation deal shortly before his second trial was scheduled to begin. This sequence of events alone is unusual as most defendants decide to cooperate in an effort to reduce their potential sentence well-prior to trial. Moreover, most federal prosecutors do not want to cooperate with a defendant who has contested charges, gone to trial and lost. Most unusual, and damaging to Manafort, is his apparent violation or beach of the cooperation agreement by his alleged lies to the government.

Stahl Criminal Defense Lawyers has once again been recognized by US News and World Report as one of New Jersey's best White Collar Criminal Defense Firm in its 2019 edition. Stahl Criminal Defense Lawyers is once again included in the 2019 Best Lawyers^® in America list.