Federal Crimes
Federal criminal conduct usually falls under one of seven categories, which are similar to those found in State Courts. The seven categories of federal crimes are as follows:
Fraud and Theft
This category involves those cases commonly referred to as white collar crimes. The offenses most commonly charged under this category include: concealing assets during a bankruptcy; filing a false claim for postal or pension loss; possessing false papers in order to defraud the United States; making false credit applications; bank and deposit account fraud; using a computer, radio, or television to commit a fraud against another; and money laundering.
Sex Offenses
The main four federal sex offenses are sexual abuse; aggravated sexual abuse; sexual abuse of a minor or ward; and abusive sexual contact. In all of these cases, the matter can only be prosecuted in federal court if either the alleged criminal act occurred on federal property or the parties involved in the crime traveled or communicated over state lines.
Child Pornography
The majority of these federal offenses involve trafficking, selling, distributing, or possessing child pornography through the use of computers and the internet. Because computers and the internet are almost always a part of these cases, your Los Angeles federal criminal defense attorney must have experience with how computers and the internet work.
Firearms Offenses
The most common federal firearms violations are Felons in Possession of a Firearm; Possession of an Illegal or Unregistered Firearm; and Using or Carrying a Firearm during a Drug Trafficking Offense.
Crimes against the Person
Some of the most common of these offenses prosecuted in federal court are murder, manslaughter, and assault (these become federal cases when it is alleged the crime occurred on federal property or on the high seas; kidnapping (transporting the victim over state lines makes it a federal case); robbery (the alleged criminal act must interfere with "interstate commerce" in order for it to be a federal matter); and bank robbery (this is a federal case because the bank's money is protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).
Drug Offenses
Most of these offenses involve selling, manufacturing or distributing marijuana, cocaine or other illegal substances, and the criminal elements are similar to those found under state law. Most federal drug offenses involve the transportation of narcotics or marijuana over state lines. This may involve transporting the drugs from one state to another in a motor vehicle or other means of transportation.
If you have been charged with a federal offense, you should contact a Los Angeles Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer today!