Received an FBI Target Letter? What You Need to Do Right Now

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle federal criminal defense for clients across the nation, and weve seen what happens when people recieve target letters. Some handle it right. Most dont. This article is going to walk you through exactly what to do - and what not to do - in the critical hours and days after that envelope arrives.

The Letter That Changes Everything

You opened an envelope from the Department of Justice or a U.S. Attorneys office. Maybe it came to your home. Maybe it came to your business. Maybe your lawyer called you becuase it came to them first. Either way, your hands are shaking and your mind is racing.

Heres the uncomfortable truth you need to hear right now: 80-90% of target letter recipients get indicted. You need to be in the other 10-20%.

That statistic isnt meant to terrify you. Its meant to wake you up. Because the people who end up in that smaller group - the ones who dont get indicted, or who get significantly reduced charges, or who negotiate pre-indictment resolutions - they didnt get there by accident. They got there because they understood what this letter actualy means and they acted accordingly.

The target letter didnt create your problem. It revealed that a problem has existed for months, maybe years, while federal investigators built there case. But it also revealed something else. Something most people miss in their panic.

It revealed you still have options. If you act now.

What The Target Letter Actually Tells You

OK so lets decode this thing. Most people read a target letter and see only one message: your in trouble. But thats not whats really being communicated here.

The target letter is the governments poker tell. They just showed you their hand AND their timeline.

Think about what this letter means from the prosecutors perspective. They sent you a formal notice that your a target of a grand jury investigation. They listed specific statutes they beleive youve violated. They gave you an opportunity to appear before the grand jury or provide information.

Heres the part nobody talks about: prosecutors dont have to send this letter. They could have just showed up at your door at 6 AM with handcuffs and a search warrant. The DOJ has a policy requiring target letters in most cases (its USAM 9-11.151), but the policy exists for a reason. The government benifits from cooperation.

Look at what the letter tells you about there case:

• The specific statutes listed reveal their theory
• What there NOT listing might reveal their weaknesses
• The invitation to testify before the grand jury suggests they want something from you
• The timeline they give you shows there schedule constraints

Prosecutors send target letters when cases are weak. Strong cases get 6 AM arrests. Thats not me being optimistic. Thats how the system actualy works.

If they had you dead to rights - if the evidence was overwhelming and their was no benefit to your cooperation - you wouldnt get a letter. Youd get agents at your door.

The letter didnt create your problem. It revealed you still have options - if you act now.

The 48-Hour Mistake Zone

The first 48 hours after recieving a target letter are when most people destroy there cases. Not through criminal activity. Through panic.

Your instinct is to call someone and explain. Thats the worst thing you can do in the first 48 hours.

Let me tell you what happens when people follow there instincts:

They call there business partner to "get the story straight." That call is recorded or the partner becomes a witness against them. They email there accountant asking to "review some documents." That email becomes evidence of consciousness of guilt. They text there spouse something that sounds innocent but becomes devastating when read aloud in court.

One panicked phone call can turn a potential witness into the governments star cooperator against you.

Heres what you need to understand about federal investigations. By the time you recieved this letter, investigators have probly been watching for 8-18 months. They know who your associates are. They may have already interviewed some of them. They may have cooperating witnesses you dont even know about.

Every communication you make right now is potentialy monitored or will later be reconstructed through subpoenas. Not to scare you - to focus you.

In the first 48 hours, you do exactly three things:

1. Call a federal criminal defense attorney. Not a state lawyer. Not your divorce attorney. Someone who handles federal cases.
2. Tell no one else about the letter. Not your spouse (yet). Not your business partner. Not your best friend.
3. Touch nothing. Dont delete emails. Dont shred documents. Dont "organize" files.

Everything else can wait. But these three things cant.

Your 30-45 Day Strategic Window

Once youve got counsel, the clock starts in a different way. You have 30 days. They spent 18 months. Every hour you waste is an hour you cant get back.

The typical timeline from target letter to grand jury presentation is 30-45 days. But this varies dramaticaly by district. In SDNY, your window is 2-4 weeks. In Middle District of Florida, its 12-16 weeks. Geography is destiny.

Your lawyer needs to figure out fast where you fall on that timeline. Becuase everything you do in the next month flows from that reality.

Heres what happens in this window:

Week 1: Your lawyer reviews the letter, starts assessing what the government likely has, and begins thinking about wheather theres an avenue for discussion with prosecutors.

Weeks 2-3: If appropriate, your lawyer reaches out to the AUSA (Assistant U.S. Attorney) handling the case. This initial contact is delicate. Its feeling out wheather theres interest in a proffer session, what the governments posture is, and wheather theres room to negotiate.

Weeks 3-4: If a proffer session happens, this is where everything can change. You provide information under a proffer agreement. The government learns what you know. You learn more about what they have. Paths forward emerge.

Week 4+: Depending on the district and the case, this is where pre-indictment resolutions get negotiated, or where its clear an indictment is coming and you shift to trial preparation.

The grand jury meets on a fixed schedule. If prosecutors miss this cycle becuase youve created productive dialogue, the case cools for months. Thats leverage.

The Cooperation Decision Matrix

This is where things get strategic and where you realy need experienced counsel. The cooperation question is the biggest decision youll make in this process.

Pre-indictment cooperation can cut your sentence in half. Post-indictment? Prosecutors remember you made them work.

Let me break down how 5K1.1 cooperation credit actualy works. If you cooperate - meaning you provide substantial assistance to the government - the prosecutor can file whats called a 5K1.1 motion. This motion allows the judge to sentence you below the guidelines range and even below mandatory minimums.

But heres the critical part: only the prosecutor can file this motion. You cant ask for it yourself. And the value of your cooperation depends heavily on timing.

Pre-Indictment Cooperation:

• Maximum leverage with prosecutors
• Possibility of no charges at all
• Possibility of reduced charges
• Strongest 5K1.1 credit if you do get sentenced

Post-Indictment Cooperation:

• Prosecutors already did the work to indict you
• Youve already cost the government resources
• Cooperation still helps, but the credit is diminished
• Prosecutors never forget you made them prove there case

Some people think they can fight first and cooperate later if things go badly. This strategy almost never works. The window for maximum cooperation credit is right now.

That said, cooperation isnt right for everyone. If your actualy innocent, cooperation makes no sense. If cooperating would require you to provide false information about others, its ethicaly and legally off the table. These are decisions you make with your attorney based on the facts of your specific situation.

What Most Lawyers Wont Tell You

Ive been doing this for years and I can tell you that most lawyers who dont specialize in federal defense give terrible advice on target letters. They tell clients to wait and see. To lay low. To not rock the boat.

Thats exactly backwards.

Target, subject, witness - these labels can change. Some targets become witnesses. The question is wheather you know how to make that happen.

The federal system has three categories for people involved in investigations:

• Target: The government has substantial evidence linking you to a crime. Your the presumed defendant.
• Subject: Your conduct is within the scope of the investigation, but theres not substantial evidence against you.
• Witness: Your not suspected of wrongdoing but have relevant information.

People move between these categories. Targets become subjects when initial theories dont pan out. Subjects become targets when new evidence emerges. And sometimes - through strategic engagement - targets become cooperating witnesses who never face charges themselves.

This dosent happen by accident. It happens when experienced counsel engages with prosecutors early, presents mitigating information, and creates doubt about the governments theory.

The passive approach - waiting to see what happens - is what keeps you locked in as a target until indictment. The active approach - strategic engagement through counsel - is what creates movement.

The 5 Moves That Save Cases

Everyone assumes lawyers just wait and see. The good ones are already negotiating before you finish reading the letter.

Here are the moves that matter:

Move 1: Early Counsel Outreach Your lawyer reaches out to the AUSA to establish dialogue. Not to admit anything. Not to commit to anything. Just to open a line of communication and signal that your taking this seriously.

Move 2: The Information Audit You and your lawyer need to understand what you have thats valuable. What do you know that the government might want? Who else is involved? What can you offer?

Move 3: Reverse Proffer Request Before you commit to a proffer session, your lawyer can sometimes get the government to do a reverse proffer - showing you what they have on you. This is huge for decision-making.

Move 4: Strategic Document Production Sometimes providing certain documents voluntarily (through counsel) can demonstrate cooperation and shift the governments view, especialy if those documents undermine there theory.

Move 5: The Response Letter This might be the most important document of your case. Your lawyer drafts a response to the target letter that begins shaping the narrative, raises legal issues with the governments theory, and lays groundwork for future negotiations.

None of these moves are about admitting guilt. There about creating options and preserving leverage.

Why This Moment Matters More Than Any Other

Im going to be direct with you becuase thats what you need right now.

Grand juries indict 99.9% of cases prosecutors bring. Your job is to change the prosecutors mind before that vote.

Once the grand jury returns an indictment, everything changes. Bail becomes an issue. Your name becomes public. The pressure to plead guilty intensifies. The cooperation credit available to you diminishes.

Right now, today, you have something that 99% of federal defendants never get: advance notice and time to act.

Most federal defendants learn about there indictment when agents show up to arrest them. They dont get to hire counsel carefully. They dont get to evaluate there options. They dont get to potentialy negotiate there way to a better outcome before charges are filed.

You have that opportunity. The question is wheather youll use it.

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At Spodek Law Group, weve handled hundreds of federal cases. We understand how prosecutors think, how grand juries work, and how the critical decisions made in the first days and weeks after a target letter determine everything that follows.

If youve recieved a target letter, call us at 212-300-5196. The consultation is confidential. The clock is ticking. And what you do in the next 48 hours matters more then you can imagine.

Todd Spodek leads our federal defense practice and has successfuly navigated clients through target letter situations across multiple federal districts. We know this process. Let us help you navigate it.