Federal White Collar Criminal Defense

The white-collar charges, one by one

False statements to federal agents under 18 U.S.C. section 1001 punishes anyone who, "in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully" either "falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact," or "makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation." The maximum is 5 years, rising to 8 where terrorism or certain sex offenses are involved: the statute provides that offenders "shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both." This is the charge that makes talking to agents dangerous, because a single false answer in an interview becomes a felony even if the underlying conduct was never a crime.

False claims against the United States under 18 U.S.C. section 287 punishes anyone who "makes or presents to any person or officer in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States, or to any department or agency thereof, any claim upon or against the United States, or any department or agency thereof, knowing such claim to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent." The maximum is 5 years. This is the demanding-payment twin of false statements: section 1001 covers lies told to the government, while section 287 covers money demanded from the government on a claim the defendant knows is false.

Major fraud against the United States under 18 U.S.C. section 1031 targets big-ticket fraud on federal money. It punishes anyone who "knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, any scheme or artifice with the intent" either "to defraud the United States" or "to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises" in federal assistance or procurement, "if the value of such grant, contract, subcontract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, or other form of Federal assistance, or any constituent part thereof, is $1,000,000 or more." Conviction brings a fine up to $1,000,000, prison up to 10 years, or both: the statute says offenders "shall, subject to the applicability of subsection (c) of this section, be fined not more than $1,000,000, or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both." Fines can go higher where the loss or gain is large, and the limitations period is longer than usual: "A prosecution of an offense under this section may be commenced any time not later than 7 years after the offense is committed, plus any additional time otherwise allowed by law."

Federal bribery under 18 U.S.C. section 201 covers bribery of federal public officials and witnesses. On the giver side it punishes anyone who "directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers or promises anything of value to any public official," including "with intent" either "to influence any official act" or to induce the official to commit fraud on the United States or to violate a lawful duty. The mirror image punishes the official who demands or accepts the thing of value in return. Bribery under subsection (b) carries up to 15 years: offenders "shall be fined under this title or not more than three times the monetary equivalent of the thing of value, whichever is greater, or imprisoned for not more than fifteen years, or both, and may be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States." The lesser gratuity offense in subsection (c), paying an official "for or because of any official act performed or to be performed" without the corrupt bargain, carries up to 2 years: offenders "shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both."

Federal program bribery under 18 U.S.C. section 666 reaches bribery and theft where section 201 does not: organizations and state, local, or tribal governments that take federal money. The statute applies where "the organization, government, or agency receives, in any one year period, benefits in excess of $10,000 under a Federal program involving a grant, contract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, or other form of Federal assistance." Its bribery prong punishes anyone who "corruptly solicits or demands for the benefit of any person, or accepts or agrees to accept, anything of value from any person, intending to be influenced or rewarded in connection with any business, transaction, or series of transactions of such organization, government, or agency involving any thing of value of $5,000 or more." The maximum is 10 years: offenders "shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both." Genuine pay stays outside the statute, since "This section does not apply to bona fide salary, wages, fees, or other compensation paid, or expenses paid or reimbursed, in the usual course of business."

Government property theft under 18 U.S.C. section 641 punishes anyone who "embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts to his use or the use of another," without authority disposes of, or receives and keeps knowing it stolen, "any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof." The maximum is 10 years for larger cases and 1 year for small ones: offenders "Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the value of such property in the aggregate, combining amounts from all the counts for which the defendant is convicted in a single case, does not exceed the sum of $1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."

Identity theft under 18 U.S.C. section 1028 covers fake IDs, stolen identification documents, and misuse of another person's means of identification. Its broadest prong punishes anyone who "knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, or in connection with, any unlawful activity." The case becomes federal where the document appears to be issued by the United States or where the conduct "is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce, including the transfer of a document by electronic means." Penalties step with seriousness: producing or transferring federal IDs, birth certificates, or licenses, moving more than five documents, or misusing IDs for gain over $1,000 in a year can bring up to 15 years, since offenders face "a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or both," while other production, transfer, or use cases carry up to 5 years: "a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both." Higher maximums apply where statutory aggravators are proved.

Access device fraud under 18 U.S.C. section 1029 covers counterfeit and unauthorized credit cards, account numbers, and device-making equipment. Core offenses include anyone who "knowingly and with intent to defraud produces, uses, or traffics in one or more counterfeit access devices," trafficking in or using unauthorized devices to obtain $1,000 or more in a year, possessing fifteen or more counterfeit or unauthorized devices, and making or holding device-making equipment. Most first offenses carry up to 10 years: "if the offense is under paragraph (1), (2), (3), (6), (7), or (10) of subsection (a), a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both." Device-making equipment, large-scale trafficking, and similar conduct carries up to 15 years: "if the offense is under paragraph (4), (5), (8), or (9) of subsection (a), a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or both." Repeat offenses carry up to 20 years.

Computer fraud under 18 U.S.C. section 1030, often called the CFAA, punishes hacking and computer damage in several forms. The fraud prong covers anyone who "knowingly and with intent to defraud, accesses a protected computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized access, and by means of such conduct furthers the intended fraud and obtains anything of value, unless the object of the fraud and the thing obtained consists only of the use of the computer and the value of such use is not more than $5,000 in any 1-year period." Password trafficking, government computer intrusions, and damage offenses are separate prongs with their own maximums, from 1 year for simple unauthorized access up to 10 or 20 years for fraud, espionage, and damage, and any term of years or life where deaths result. Almost any internet-connected machine counts as a protected computer, since the definition includes any computer "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication."

RICO under 18 U.S.C. section 1962 punishes conducting an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. The workhorse provision makes it unlawful for "any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt." Investing racketeering income, acquiring an enterprise through racketeering, and conspiring to do any of these are separate offenses, and the conspiracy provision is short: "It shall be unlawful for any person to conspire to violate any of the provisions of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section." RICO carries up to 20 years, or life where the underlying conduct allows it: "Whoever violates any provision of section 1962 of this chapter shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years (or for life if the violation is based on a racketeering activity for which the maximum penalty includes life imprisonment), or both." Forfeiture is mandatory, reaching interests acquired in violation of the statute, interests in the enterprise, and all proceeds of the racketeering.

What separates one white-collar charge from another

Three comparisons decide most charging fights on this page, and they are worth learning because prosecutors use them to stack counts.

First, lies versus demands versus big contracts. Section 1001 punishes false statements made in matters within federal jurisdiction, with a 5-year maximum. Section 287 punishes presenting a false claim for payment against the United States, also with a 5-year maximum. Section 1031 punishes schemes to defraud the United States or take federal money by false pretenses in grants, contracts, or assistance worth $1,000,000 or more, with a 10-year maximum and a 7-year limitations period. One inflated invoice can therefore implicate all three: the lie on the form, the demand for payment, and the contract scheme. The distinctions that matter are whether money was actually demanded, whether the amount crosses the $1,000,000 line, and how old the conduct is.

Second, the two bribery statutes. Section 201 protects the federal government itself and turns on the status of the person bribed: a federal public official, a person selected for such a post, or a witness. Section 666 protects federal money wherever it flows and turns on the funding: the organization or government must take more than $10,000 in federal benefits in a year, and the transaction at issue must involve anything worth $5,000 or more. A payment to a Member of Congress is a section 201 case. The same payment to a city contracts officer in a federally funded program is a section 666 case. The maximums differ as well, 15 years under section 201(b) against 10 years under section 666, and the sentencing guidelines differ, as explained below.

Third, the identity and payment group. Section 1028 punishes the documents and identifiers themselves: fake IDs, stolen identification papers, and another person's means of identification used for crime. Section 1029 punishes the payment instruments: counterfeit and unauthorized access devices, trafficking, and device-making equipment. Section 1030 punishes the computer conduct: unauthorized access, fraud through access, damage, and password trafficking. A phishing crew that steals logins, mints cards, and drains accounts can violate all three at once, and each statute measures seriousness differently: document counts and gain under section 1028, device counts and value under section 1029, and the type of access and resulting damage under section 1030.

One more pattern belongs on this hub because it shapes cases across all ten pages. White-collar indictments routinely pair the core charge with conspiracy and money laundering counts. Money moved, spent, or hidden after the scheme can draw laundering charges on top of the underlying fraud or bribery, and laundering carries its own penalties and forfeiture. Ask early how the alleged proceeds moved, because that answer often predicts the second half of the indictment.

How these cases generally move

White-collar cases usually start quietly. An agency such as the FBI or the IRS criminal division opens an investigation, sometimes from a referral, an audit, a whistleblower, or a suspicious activity report. Agents gather records first: bank files, emails, contracts, billing data. Then they seek testimony. A grand jury can compel documents and witnesses through a grand jury subpoena, and recipients who receive one should treat it as a deadline with legal consequences, not as junk mail. If you receive a target letter, the government is telling you that you are under serious consideration for indictment, and every decision from that point should run through counsel.

Two moments in this phase cause the most damage. The first is the interview. Agents may ask for a voluntary chat long before charges, and anything untrue said in that room can become a section 1001 count of its own. The second is records. Deleting, hiding, backdating, or creating documents after learning of an investigation can add obstruction charges to whatever the underlying case becomes. Preserve everything, suspend routine deletion policies for anything related, and let counsel handle contacts with agents and prosecutors.

If the grand jury votes to charge, the case enters the federal criminal process: arrest or surrender, first appearance, detention questions, arraignment, discovery and motions, plea talks or trial, and then sentencing. The indictment page explains what that document contains and what the first court dates require. White-collar defendants are often released before trial, but release is never automatic, and conditions can restrict travel, money movement, and contact with witnesses. From indictment forward, the guideline calculation described below becomes the working language of the case, and both sides negotiate and litigate in its terms.

How white-collar sentences are calculated

Most charges on this page are sentenced under USSG section 2B1.1, the economic offenses guideline. The base offense level is 7 where "the defendant was convicted of an offense referenced to this guideline" with a statutory maximum of 20 years or more, and 6 otherwise. From there the loss table drives the sentence upward with the dollars, and the Manual states the core rule plainly: "Loss is the greater of actual loss or intended loss." Victim counts, sophisticated means, and program-specific bumps can add further levels on the facts. The sentencing calculator models the section 2B1.1 loss table so you can see how dollars translate into levels.

Bribery is sentenced differently. Section 201 bribery goes to USSG section 2C1.1, which starts higher: "Base Offense Level: (1) 14, if the defendant was a public official; or (2) 12, otherwise." The value of the payment, the benefit, or the government loss then feeds through the section 2B1.1 loss table, and cases involving elected or high-level officials rise further: "If the offense involved an elected public official or any public official in a high-level decision-making or sensitive position, increase by 4 levels." Section 201 gratuities go to the lower section 2C1.2: base level 11 for a public official and 9 otherwise. Section 666 splits the same way: theft under the statute is sentenced under section 2B1.1, while bribery under the statute is sentenced under section 2C1.1. That split is one more reason the section 201 versus section 666 question matters.

RICO stands apart. USSG section 2E1.1 takes the greater of a floor and the underlying conduct: "Base Offense Level (Apply the greater): (1) 19; or (2) the offense level applicable to the underlying racketeering activity." A RICO sentence is therefore at least level 19 before any adjustments, and higher where the underlying frauds, bribes, or other predicates score above it. Computer cases mostly follow section 2B1.1 as well, but the Manual routes some prongs elsewhere: espionage-related intrusions, government computer trespass, and extortionate threats each map to their own guideline, so the exact subsection charged changes the sentencing starting point. The individual charge pages carry those details.

Every penalty on this page is a statutory maximum or a guideline range, not a prediction about any real case. Maximums describe the most the law allows, guidelines describe a starting calculation the judge must consider, and judges weigh the facts, the history of the person, and the arguments of both sides before imposing a sentence. The facts of a case change everything, which is why two people charged under the same statute can receive very different sentences.

Issues that come up in white-collar defense

Because these are paper cases, the fights center on knowledge and intent. False claims, false statements, bribery, and computer fraud all require the government to prove the defendant acted knowingly, willfully, or with intent to defraud, so mistake, misunderstanding, reliance on counsel or accountants, and honest business failure all attack the mental state directly. In bribery cases the additional question is what the payment was for: the law distinguishes corrupt bargains from gratuities, legitimate compensation, and ordinary business expenses, and section 666 expressly excludes bona fide pay in the usual course of business. In computer cases a recurring question is authorization: what systems the defendant was allowed to use, what the permission covered, and whether the access exceeded it.

Procedure matters as much as substance. Subpoenas must be answered carefully, because production itself can create evidence. Searches must be checked against the warrant that authorized them. Statements to agents must be weighed against the section 1001 risk described above. And where parallel civil audits, regulatory actions, or employment proceedings run alongside the criminal case, anything said in one forum can surface in another. The federal sentencing page explains how the guideline calculation, the presentence report, and the sentencing hearing work once a case reaches that stage. Bring counsel in before the investigation hardens into an indictment, while records, statements, and strategy can still be protected.