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Criminal defense attorney, Lorraine Gauli-Rufo shares news and articles pertaining to criminal and federal law.
Why are there so few federal criminal trials?
On a general level, federal and state criminal charges are similar in several ways. The standard of proof is the same, and everyone is presumed innocent and entitled to a trial by a jury. Everyone is familiar with the standard of proof in criminal matters – the...
How Can You Represent People Who Know Are Guilty?
Once people learn that I am a federal criminal defense attorney, they frequently then ask me “How can you represent people who you know are guilty?” The answer is this – everyone is entitled to the protections of our Constitution. The Amendments to the Constitution...
Federal False Claims Act
False Claims Act – 18 USC § 287. According to the Department of Justice website, “Settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act exceeded $2.68 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023…”[1] This figure constitutes 543 settlements and judgments, which the...
Should I Talk to the Police Without an Attorney?
Many of our clients were approached by federal law enforcement agents prior to retaining us. When the federal government is investigating a potential criminal matter, and before formal charges are brought, agents frequently will contact the person and ask them to...
Federal Bank Fraud
What is federal bank fraud? Federal Bank Fraud is set forth at 18 U.S.C. § 1344 and provides that anyone who knowingly executes a scheme in order to defraud a financial institution to obtain money or property from a financial institution using fraudulent...
Federal Crimes
What Is a federal crime? Federal crimes are crimes that are codified by the United States Congress in statutes or set forth in federal rules or regulations. Some federal and state crimes are the same or similar. For example, both states and the federal government have...
Tax Fraud
What is Federal Tax Fraud? Federal tax fraud is the intentional attempt to defraud the IRS or evade the payment of taxes. It occurs when an individual or company intentionally fails to pay taxes owed, fails to file an income tax return and fails to report income...
RICO Offenses
What Is a RICO Offense RICO is short for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizational Act, a federal law passed in 1970 to fight organized crime. In a nutshell, RICO allows the federal government to charge many people for broad activities that it determines are...
What is a Federal White Collar Crime?
A federal white-collar crime is usually classified as non-violent crime and may include fraud charges, including healthcare fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, bank fraud. While the name “white collar” is derived from the people who typically commit these...