FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAWYERS

NJ Federal Criminal Lawyers

Federal Agents at Your Door – First 48 Hours

The FBI doesn’t knock gently.

Six AM, you’re in pajamas, they want confusion. Could be DEA. IRS-CI. Homeland Security. Here’s what prosecutors won’t tell you – absolute right to remain silent exists. Right now. Your door. “I’m invoking my Fifth Amendment right to counsel.” Seven words save you from federal prison. They’ll push, they always do. “Just need to clear this up.” Every word becomes evidence. Explaining innocence, prosecutors twist it.

Search warrant versus arrest warrant – different. They have a search warrant, they’re in. But often they hope you’ll consent. Never consent. Make them get warrants.

48 hours determine everything.

State cases drag months, federal prosecutors in Newark get indictments in weeks. Grand jury meets Thursdays in Newark, alternate Wednesdays in Trenton. Once they present, options vanish. That’s the window – those first two days when you still have leverage, when cooperation means something, when pre-indictment negotiations can happen. After the grand jury votes, you’re just another defendant in the machine. The system moves fast in New Jersey federal courts because the prosecutors have been building the case for months before you even knew. They’ve already interviewed witnesses, pulled bank records, traced emails. By the time agents knock, the investigation is 80% complete. You’re playing catch-up from a jail cell if you don’t move immediately.

How Federal Court Works

Newark handles North Jersey – Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union, Warren. Trenton gets everything south of Mercer. Which courthouse matters because the culture is different, the judges are different, the prosecutors approach cases differently. Newark tends toward financial crimes, healthcare fraud, white collar. Trenton sees more drug cases, firearms, violent crime. Your judge assignment happens by random wheel but that spin determines your fate. Judge Esther Salas in Newark survived an attack on her family by a disgruntled attorney who showed up at her home, killed her son, wounded her husband. She takes security threats in cases seriously now, sentences harshly when defendants make threats or show violence. Judge Michael Shipp, also Newark, former federal prosecutor who spent years building RICO cases. He knows every prosecutorial trick, every pressure tactic, sees through defense attorney theatrics. Rarely grants downward departures. Down in Trenton you might get Judge Zahid Quraishi, first Muslim federal judge in America, former JAG officer who prosecuted military cases. Tough on drugs because he’s seen what they do to military readiness, but surprisingly understanding on white collar crime, especially first-time offenders who got caught up in larger schemes. Your judge can mean the difference between probation and prison, between 37 months and 60 months, between serving time at a camp or a medium-security facility. The judges in New Jersey federal courts follow sentencing guidelines more strictly than other districts – they rarely vary downward unless there’s cooperation. According to court statistics, last year 312 defendants went to trial in Newark. Nine acquittals. Three percent success rate. In Trenton, even worse – 2.1% acquittal rate. Federal prosecutors don’t lose because they don’t bring weak cases. By indictment, they’ve spent months or years investigating. They have your emails, texts, bank records, surveillance. They’ve flipped co-defendants who testify to save themselves. Pre-trial detention is standard. No cash bail like state court. Bail Reform Act creates presumption of detention for drugs, fraud over $100,000, any firearms. You sit in Essex County Jail or Mercer County Correctional, can’t assist your defense, pressure mounting to take any deal. The conditions in county jails holding federal detainees are often worse than federal prison – overcrowded, violent, limited phone access. Many defendants plead guilty just to get to federal prison where conditions improve.

Three percent chance at trial. Those are your odds.

What You’re Really Facing – Federal Sentences in New Jersey Courts Right Now

Forget the statutory maximums you see online – 20 years for wire fraud, 30 years for drug conspiracy. Meaningless numbers meant to scare you. Here’s what people actually get sentenced to in New Jersey federal courts based on 2024-2025 data from the District.

Healthcare fraud defendants in Newark averaged 37 months last year. Doctors billing for services never provided, kickback schemes with labs, unnecessary procedures – judges are giving 2-4 years consistently. Not the 10 years maximum you read about. PPP loan fraud sentences vary wildly based on amount stolen. Under $100,000? You’re looking at 12-18 months, sometimes probation with restitution. Over $500,000? Three to five years becomes standard. Ricardo Hernandez from Paterson got 41 months for a $2.1 million PPP fraud scheme just last month. The judge could have given him 20 years. He got three and a half.

Drug cases carry mandatory minimums that judges cannot go below, no matter what. Five kilograms of cocaine or one kilogram of heroin triggers a 10-year mandatory minimum. The judge has no choice. Fentanyl cases are getting the harshest sentences right now – 50 grams of fentanyl carries the same mandatory minimum as five kilos of cocaine because of its lethality. Marcus Williams from Camden got 15 years for distributing fentanyl that caused three overdose deaths, sentence announced two weeks ago by the U.S. Attorney. The guidelines called for 20-25 years, but the judge showed some mercy because Williams was an addict himself.

The sentencing guidelines are technically advisory since 2005, but judges in New Jersey follow them religiously. Your offense level starts with the base crime, then adjustments pile on. Role in the offense adds points. Amount of loss adds points. Number of victims, obstruction of justice, using sophisticated means – everything increases your guideline range. A two-point reduction for accepting responsibility seems insignificant. It’s the difference between 37 months and 51 months. Between getting out to see your kids graduate high school or missing it from federal prison.

Your Choices

Fight, cooperate, negotiate.

Fighting means trial. Three percent win. But sometimes – circumstantial evidence, actual innocence, facing decades anyway – that three percent beats certain destruction. Michael Kade fought securities fraud, won complete acquittal. Rare.

Cooperation starts with proffers, Queen for a Day agreements. Newark prosecutors love cooperators. 5K1.1 motions cut sentences in half. Anthony Rizzo faced 20 years, cooperated, got 18 months. But cooperation means snitching, testifying, maybe witness protection forever.

Most negotiate pleas. Pre-indictment deals are best – prosecutors have flexibility before grand jury acts. After indictment, leverage gone. Every week costs you. Witnesses flip, evidence mounts.