FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAWYERS

Federal Theft Charges

FBI agents just contacted you about missing equipment from your federal workplace, or federal investigators showed up asking questions about theft from a government program. You’re scared, confused, wondering what happens next – and whether you’re about to lose everything you’ve built. Maybe you took something you thought wouldn’t be noticed, or maybe you’re being accused of something you didn’t do, but either way, the federal government now has you in its crosshairs.

This article tells you what happens to YOU next – the timeline you’re facing, the choices you’ll have at critical decision points, and what you must do immediately to protect yourself. We’re Spodek Law Group, a federal criminal defense firm with forty years of combined experience. We’ve defended clients through exactly what you’re facing now, including complex federal theft and fraud prosecutions covered by major media outlets. We’ve been there hundreds of times.

They’ve Been Building This for Months

The moment FBI agents contacted you wasn’t the beginning of your case – it was closer to the end. By the time federal investigators make contact, they’ve typically been building their case for months or even years, and they already possess substantial evidence against you. They have your emails and financial records. They have witness statements from coworkers. They have surveillance footage and detailed calculations of exactly what went missing. According to the FBI’s description of federal criminal process, investigations often proceed for extended periods before suspects are contacted – you’re not at the starting line, you’re approaching the finish line. This creates a profound shock-reality gap that trips up most defendants in the first forty-eight hours. You think this is your opportunity to clear things up. The FBI agents sitting across from you will reinforce this misconception – they’ll tell you it’ll be easier if you cooperate now, that they just need your side of the story, that talking to them before you “lawyer up” shows you have nothing to hide. This is a deliberate interrogation tactic designed to get you to waive your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Most people in your situation talk to federal agents without an attorney present, and most deeply regret it, because every word you say will be used against you, twisted to fit the prosecution’s theory, and presented to a jury as evidence of your guilt. Your constitutional right to remain silent is meaningless if you don’t exercise it immediately. Call 212-300-5196 if federal investigators have contacted you – before you say a single word to them, before you agree to an interview, before you try to “clear this up” on your own. The difference between keeping silent and trying to talk your way out of trouble could be the difference between eighteen months in federal prison and five years.

What Happens After You’re Charged

Once federal prosecutors file charges against you, you’ll experience a seventy-two-hour period that fundamentally changes your life. You’ll be arrested, processed at the federal courthouse, and fingerprinted. Within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, you’ll stand before a federal magistrate judge who will decide whether to release you on bond or detain you in custody until your case is resolved. This is when your immediate freedom is decided. The prosecutor will argue that you’re a flight risk. Your attorney will argue for your release on bond. If the judge grants bond, you’ll be released subject to conditions: GPS monitoring, surrender of your passport, and regular check-ins with pretrial services. If the judge denies bond – which happens in a meaningful percentage of federal theft cases – you’ll be detained for the next six to twelve months. Two to four weeks later, you’ll return for arraignment. The DOJ’s guidance on federal theft cases shows the government prosecutes these cases aggressively. At arraignment, you’ll hear the maximum penalty: “up to ten years in federal prison, up to $250,000 in fines, mandatory restitution, and up to three years of supervised release.” Through your attorney, you’ll enter a plea of “Not Guilty” – even if the evidence is overwhelming – because that preserves your options. The waiting period that follows is the most brutal. Federal cases move slowly – continuances, delayed discovery, prosecutor transfers. You’re living in limbo. Your employer knows. Your family knows. Every day you wake up facing federal charges. This psychological pressure is why most defendants accept plea agreements – the uncertainty becomes unbearable, and the plea represents certainty, even if that certainty is prison time.

Then there’s the plea decision. This is where things get absurd.

After arraignment, you enter the longest and most brutal phase: the waiting period where your attorney reviews the government’s evidence and negotiates with the prosecutor. This phase typically lasts three to twelve months – you can’t move forward with your life, you’re hemorrhaging money on legal fees, and you’re facing the biggest decision: accept a plea deal or exercise your Sixth Amendment right to trial. The mathematics are brutal. The vast majority of federal cases end in plea agreements. Of those that go to trial, most result in conviction. If you reject a plea offer and proceed to trial, you’re facing steep odds – and if you lose, the sentence will almost certainly be substantially harsher than what was offered. This is called the “trial penalty,” and while judges and prosecutors deny its existence, every federal criminal defense attorney knows it’s real. The prosecutor offers a plea to one count of theft of government property, with a sentencing recommendation of eighteen to twenty-four months. Your attorney gathers mitigation evidence – you’re paying back restitution, you have no prior criminal record – and negotiates down to twelve to fifteen months. That’s nine months your attorney just saved you. If you reject the plea, go to trial, and lose, the judge sentences you to forty-eight months instead of eighteen. That’s thirty months of additional prison time as punishment for exercising your constitutional right to trial. There’s a third option: cooperation. If you can provide substantial assistance to the government, they may offer you a cooperation agreement that dramatically reduces your sentence. Cooperation can reduce a forty-eight-month sentence to twelve months or even probation, but it comes with profound risks – you’re now a witness against people who may retaliate, and if you weren’t fully truthful, they can revoke the agreement. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines operate on a point system most defendants don’t understand until it’s too late. You start with six points for basic theft. Points get added based on the value: if you stole $75,000, that adds eight points. Prior convictions add points. If the judge finds you obstructed justice – destroyed evidence, lied to investigators – that adds two points. If you accepted responsibility by pleading guilty early, that subtracts two or three points. Let’s make this concrete. You’re charged with theft of $75,000. Base level: six points. Amount of loss adds eight. Total: fourteen points. No criminal history. You pled guilty early (subtract three). Final level: eleven points. The guidelines recommend six to twelve months in Zone B – you must serve at least one month in prison, with the remainder potentially in home confinement. But if you had obstructed justice, you’d be at thirteen points, which means twelve to eighteen months in Zone C – at least half served in prison. Two points is the difference between six months and eighteen months.

What You Need to Do Right Now

Pay back restitution. Gather character letters. Complete treatment programs if relevant.

Pay back as much restitution as possible – demonstrating substantial restitution shows genuine remorse. Gather character reference letters from employers, family, and community members who can speak to who you are beyond this case. Whether you plead guilty or you’re convicted after trial, a federal probation officer will interview you, dig into every aspect of your life, and write a Pre-Sentence Report that calculates your recommended sentence. If substance abuse or mental health issues contributed to your offense, complete a treatment program before sentencing. Sentencing is where decades of experience matters – an attorney who has defended your exact situation hundreds of times makes a material difference in the outcome you face. We’re Spodek Law Group – we’ve represented clients in federal theft cases involving government employees, federal contractors, and embezzlement from federally funded programs, achieving outcomes ranging from complete case dismissals to sentences below the guideline range. Call 212-300-5196.