You noticed a car. Same car. Parked down the street, maybe three houses up. Someone sitting in it, not doing anything. Just watching. You saw it yesterday. You saw it the day before. Now you're looking out the window trying to figure out if you're being paranoid or if something very real is happening.
If federal agents are conducting surveillance on your home, what you do in the next 24-72 hours matters more than anything that comes after.
The federal conviction rate exceeds 97%. Once someone gets indicted, they almost never walk away. Only 2-3% of federal defendants even go to trial - and of those who do, 86% are convicted anyway. Trial sentences average three times longer than plea sentences for identical conduct. These numbers should tell you something about how federal prosecution works. The system is built to produce convictions. It starts with investigations exactly like the one that might be happening outside your window right now. What happens in the pre-indictment window - before any charges exist - is often the only leverage you'll ever have.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle federal criminal defense, including cases where clients come to us during the investigation phase - before any indictment, before any arrest. If you're seeing what looks like surveillance and you're worried about what it means, this article explains the legal reality of your situation and what you should and shouldn't do next.
What Federal Surveillance Actually Means
Most people dont realize this, but federal agents dont need a warrant to watch your house.
Under established law, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in public spaces. That means agents from the FBI, DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, or any other federal agency can legally park on a public street, sit in an unmarked vehicle, and observe your home for as long as they want. They can photograph everyone who comes and goes. They can follow you when you leave for work. They can track your movements as you drive through the city. None of this requires judicial authorization.
What they CAN do without a warrant:
- Park on any public street and observe indefinatly
- Photograph visitors to your home
- Follow you in public
- Track your movements on public roads
- Note your schedule, patterns, habits
What they CANNOT do without a warrant:
- Tap your phones (requires Title III authorization)
- Monitor your email (requires court order)
- Place GPS devices on your vehicle (requires warrant)
- Enter your home or search interior spaces
The distinction matters. Electronic surveillance - wiretaps, email monitoring, cell phone interception - does require court authorization. But heres the uncomfortable reality: if there already conducting that kind of surveillance, you won't know about it until criminal charges are filed and discovery begins. The fact that your seeing visible surveillance could mean they already have authorization for the invisible kind.
Federal investigations can last for years before any arrest happens. According to defense practitioners, simple cases with clear evidence might conclude in 6-12 months. Complex white-collar fraud, drug conspiracies, or public corruption cases commonly take 2-5 years. The investigation has been building long before you noticed anything.
So what does visible surveillance mean?
It often means the investigation is entering its final stages. There confirming patterns they've already documented. There verifying information from cooperating witnesses. There preparing for what comes next - whether thats approaching you, executing search warrants, or filing an indictment. The car parked outside isn't the beginning. It might be closer to the end.
The Window Thats Closing
The federal conviction rate exceeds 97%. Only 2-3% of federal defendants go to trial. Of those who take their chances with a jury, 86% are convicted anyway.
These numbers aren't accidents. There the result of a system designed to produce guilty pleas.
The trial penalty is real. Defendants who go to trial and lose receive sentences aproximately three times longer than defendants who plead guilty to identical conduct. The system creates massive incentives for early resolution. Prosecutors know this. Defense attorneys know this. The question is whether you know this before it's to late.
Once an indictment happens, your options collapse dramatically. The Speedy Trial Act requires trial to begin within 70 days of indictment. Your moving at the government's pace, on their timeline, with there evidence already assembled. Pre-indictment - right now, if you're being surveilled but haven't been charged - is the only window where defense attorneys have real leverage.
What does pre-indictment leverage look like? Proffer sessions. Cooperation negotiations. Civil resolution in cases where thats possible. The ability to shape how prosecutors view you before they've committed to an indictment. None of this is available once charges are filed.
Warning signs you may be a target:
- Associates being contacted by federal agents
- Grand jury subpoenas for documents or records
- Arrests of people connected to you - friends, business partners, suppliers
- Financial irregularities - frozen accounts, unusual bank activity
- The surveillance you're seeing right now
Heres the paradox most people dont understand. Target letters - formal notification from the DOJ that you're a target of investigation - are actually rare. The government isn't required to send them, and most people who get indicted never receive one. Prosecutors typically prefer that targets don't know their status. Informed targets might obstruct justice, flee, or hire lawyers who complicate things. The silence isn't mercy. It's strategy.
If your seeing surveillance but haven't recieved any notification, that's normal. It doesn't mean your safe. It means your in exactly the position the government prefers you to be in - unaware, unprepared, and likely to make mistakes.
This is terrifying. The numbers are brutal. But understand something important. The window exists precisley because the system wants early resolution. Prosecutors have limited resources. Trials are expensive and uncertain. A defendant who engages before indictment, with skilled counsel, can sometimes negotiate outcomes that would be impossible afterward.
The window is closing. But it isn't closed yet.
What Your Instincts Will Tell You to Do - And Why That's Wrong
Your instincts right now: Explain yourself. Clear the air. Cooperate fully to show you have nothing to hide. Maybe reach out to some associates to figure out what's going on. Maybe get rid of some old documents that might look bad but aren't really anything.
Every one of those instincts becomes a federal crime.
This is the trap that destroys people. The investigation doesn't just catch the original conduct - it creates new crimes based on how you respond.
- Talking to federal agents - Even without meaning to lie, any inconsistancy in your statements can become a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 - making false statements to federal agents. That's a seperate felony carrying up to 5 years. The agents will seem friendly. Cooperative. They'll assure you that you're not in trouble. They're building a case using your own words.
- Destroying documents - The government is exceptionally good at proving when files were modified or deleted. Timestamps. Forensic recovery. If you destroy anything after becoming aware of an investigation, that becomes obstruction of justice - regardless of what those documents actually showed.
- Reaching out to associates - Trying to coordinate stories with others who might be involved is witness tampering. It dosent matter if you think your just getting information. It dosent matter if you think your being helpful. The act of contacting potential witnesses during an investigation becomes its own crime.
- Making voluntary payments - In fraud cases, some people try to repay money before charges are filed, thinking it shows good faith. The DOJ has explicitly stated that voluntary repayment can be used as evidence of consciousness of guilt. Returning money doesn't make things better - it can actualy prove you knew something was wrong.
Martha Stewart wasn't convicted of insider trading. She was convicted of obstruction of justice for how she handled the investigation. She lied to investigators during interviews. The underlying conduct the government initially investigated resulted in no charges. The investigation itself created the crimes she went to prison for.
This is how federal prosecution works. Your response to the investigation becomes part of the case against you.
What to actually do:
- Do NOT speak to federal agents without an attorney present. You have an absolute right to remain silent and to have counsel. Use it. "I'm invoking my right to remain silent and want to speak with an attorney" is all you need to say.
- Do NOT destroy anything. No documents, no emails, no text messages, no files. Nothing. Leave everything exactly as it is.
- Do NOT discuss with others who may be involved. Don't try to find out what's happening through contacts who might be targets themselves. Don't reach out to coordinate. Don't try to get stories straight.
- Contact a federal defense attorney immediately. This is the only action that helps. An attorney can evaluate your situation, advise you on your rights, and potentially engage with prosecutors in ways that protect your interests.
Todd Spodek has handled federal investigations during the pre-indictment phase. He understands the difference between cases still in the investigative stage versus cases heading toward imminent charges. He knows how to evaluate whether you're actually a target, a subject, or a witness - and what options exist depending on where you actually stand.
When Your Ready
If you're in New York - or anywhere in the country - and you're seeing what looks like federal surveillance, Spodek Law Group can help you understand what's happening and what options you might have.
The consultation is free. What you'll get is an honest assessment. Are you actualy a target? What does the surveillance pattern suggest about where the investigation might be? Is this possibly something else entirely? And if it is federal surveillance, what's the best approach in the window that still exists?
Call us at 888-997-4071. The window between investigation and indictment is your only real leverage. Once charges are filed, the 97% conviction rate starts applying to you. Right now, before that happens, there may be options. But windows close. Investigations progress. The car parked outside your house is there for a reason.
Were here when you need us.
