White Collar Criminal Defense
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you the reality of white collar criminal defense - not the sanitized version other law firms present, not the legal fiction that "good people don't go to prison for financial crimes," but the actual truth about what happens when federal prosecutors decide you're their next target.
The system isn't designed to find the truth. It's designed to win convictions. Federal prosecutors only bring cases they're certain to win - 97% conviction rate certain. They've been building your case for 8 to 18 months before you receive any indication you're being investigated. By the time that target letter arrives, they've already collected 80 to 90 percent of the evidence they need to convict you. The respectability you built over a lifetime becomes the paper trail that destroys you.
Think about what this means. While you were running your business, raising your family, attending industry conferences - federal agents were pulling your bank records, interviewing your colleagues, analyzing your emails. You didn't know. You couldn't have known. Grand jury proceedings are secret by design. That secrecy doesn't protect you. It protects their investigation from interference until they're ready to strike.
This is the hidden architecture of federal white collar prosecution. And if you're reading this because something has triggered your concern - a strange visit from investigators, a subpoena at your office, a nervous call from a colleague - then you need to understand exactly what you're facing before your window of action closes.
The 18 Months You Didn't Know About
Heres the thing most people dont understand about federal white collar investigations. The target letter isnt the beginning of your legal fight - its the end of theirs. Federal prosecutors typically spend 8 to 18 months building a case before you even know your under investigation. During that time, FBI agents are pulling records, interviewing witnesses, analyzing financial documents. They're watching your transactions. Building their case.
You probably think you would notice if you were being investigated. You wouldnt. These investigations are conducted with surgical precision and total secrecy. Your colleagues are interviewed and told not to mention the conversation. Your bank provides records under seal. The grand jury meets in closed session. Nothing reaches you until they want it to.
The timeline is deliberate. In months one through three, the investigation is building. FBI agents are pulling records, obtaining subpoenas, identifying witnesses. Your name appears in internal memos but never crosses your desk. In months four through eight, the case takes shape. Witness interviews happen. Document production accelerates. Prosecutors begin drafting theory of the case memos that will eventually become your indictment.
By months nine through twelve, the case is essentialy complete. They know what they're going to charge. They know who their witnesses are. They know every email that supports their theory. The only reason they havent contacted you is timing - they're waiting for the right moment.
So when that target letter arrives, your already playing catch-up in a game that started without you. They had a year and a half. You have 30 to 45 days before the grand jury convenes. Thats not a fair fight. Its not designed to be.
Why "Good People" Make Perfect Targets
Heres were it gets uncomfortable. The very things that make you succesful in business - meticulous record-keeping, detailed communication, thorough documentation - become the weapons used against you. Your not an easier target despite your success. Your an easier target becuase of it.
Think about it. A drug dealer doesnt send emails confirming transactions. Doesn't create spreadsheets tracking cash flows. Doesn't have years of text messages discussing strategy with partners. But you do. Every email you sent explaining why a decision was made, every text confirming a meeting, every financial record you kept - those become exhibits in the prosecution's case.
The prosecution dosent need to prove you knew what you were doing through circumstantial evidence. They have your own words. Your own records. Your own documentation showing exactly what you were thinking at the time. Todd Spodek has seen this pattern in hundreds of cases - the most organized, most succesful clients often face the steepest uphill battles because their own meticulous nature created the evidence file.
And heres the cruel irony. Those records also show you knew the rules. That compliance training you attended? Evidence you understood what was prohibited. Those emails where you flagged potential issues? Evidence you recognized problems and proceeded anyway. The more responsible you were about documenting concerns, the stronger the government's argument that you acted with full knowledge.
This is why prosecutors love white collar cases. The evidence package is already assembled. Your business practices created it. Your emails explain it. Your financial records quantify it. All they have to do is collect what you already made.
The 99.993% Indictment Machine
OK so lets talk about grand juries for a moment. The public beleives grand juries exist to protect citizens from unfounded prosecution. To serve as a check on prosecutorial power. To ensure that charges only move forward when theres genuine probable cause.
Thats the fantasy version. In reality, grand juries indict 99.993% of the time. Let that sink in. In 2010, federal prosecutors pursued 162,000 cases. Grand juries voted not to indict in exactly eleven of them. Eleven out of 162,000.
The reason this happens is structural. Grand juries hear only one side of the case. The prosecutor presents their evidence. Calls their witnesses. Frames the questions. Explains the law. The defendant doesnt present anything - you dont even have a right to appear unless the prosecutor chooses to invite you. And even then, your walking into a room where 23 people have already heard hours of one-sided presentation.
Heres the kicker - your attorney isnt allowed in the room during grand jury proceedings. You can step out to consult with counsel, but inside that room, your alone. The prosecutor controls what evidence is presented. What witnesses testify. What questions are asked. Theres no cross-examination. No defense presentation. No judge supervising.
The grand jury isnt a search for truth. Its a formalization of charges the prosecutor has already decided to bring. The 99.993% indictment rate tells you everything you need to know about how that process actualy works.
CRITICAL WARNING: If your case is scheduled for grand jury presentation, understand that indictment is virtualy certain. The question isnt whether you'll be charged. The question is what happens after.
When Your Company Becomes the Prosecution's Best Witness
Heres the part nobody talks about. When federal investigators come for a corporate executive, they dont just investigate the individual. They investigate the company. And companies have very different incentives than the people who work for them.
Your employer will receive subpoenas for documents. Their counsel will advise cooperation to reduce corporate liability. Cooperation means handing over your emails. Your files. Your communications with colleagues. It means allowing - or requiring - your coworkers to testify about conversations they had with you.
The company that employed you yesterday becomes the prosecution's star witness today. And you often dont see it coming. One day your in meetings, making decisions, building projects. The next day your on administrative leave, locked out of systems, with your former colleagues giving depositions about your conduct.
This isnt betrayal from the company's perspective. Its survival. Federal sentancing guidelines provide massive incentives for corporate cooperation. A company that fully cooperates can see their exposure reduced by 50% or more. Your exposure becomes their bargaining chip.
What makes this especialy dangerous is the timing. Corporate investigations often run parallel to individual investigations - but the company knows about both while you might only know about one. By the time you realize you need defense counsel, the company may have already produced thousands of pages of documents that include your communications, your meeting notes, your strategic memos.
At Spodek Law Group, we've seen this dynamic play out dozens of times. Executives who thought their company would stand behind them discover that the company has been quietly cooperating for months. The loyalty they expected evaporates the moment the company's legal exposure becomes clear.
The Conversation That Ends Your Defense
Look, FBI agents are trained investigators. They're also trained to seem friendly. Approachable. Understanding. When they show up at your office or your home for a "voluntary conversation," they dont act like the interrogators you see in movies. They act like colleagues asking clarifying questions.
This is extremly dangerous. Every word you say in that conversation gets summarized in what's called a 302 report - the agent's written summary of the interview. You dont get to see this report. You dont get to correct it. You dont even know exactly what it says until months later, during discovery in your criminal case.
And any inconsistency between what you said and what other witnesses said, or what your earlier statements were, becomes potential evidence of obstruction of justice. The government dosent need to prove you lied intentionally. They need to show that your statement was materially false. Memory errors become potential felonies.
So now your facing not just the underlying charge - but obstruction charges that can double your exposure. And the evidence for those charges? Your own words, summarized by the people investigating you.
Heres what really matters about this. Martha Stewart didnt go to prison for insider trading. She went to prison for lying to federal agents about the insider trading. The underlying charge was weaker - but the statements she made trying to explain herself created a new, stronger case. This pattern repeats constantly in white collar prosecutions.
WARNING: Never speak to federal agents without an attorney present. Ever. It dosent matter how innocent you are. It dosent matter how badly you want to "clear this up." The friendly conversation is the most dangerous moment in any white collar investigation.
What a Target Letter Actually Means
When you recieve a target letter, you have approximately 6 to 8 weeks of actual leverage. Sometimes less. The Southern District of New York has been known to move from target letter to indictment in three weeks. The timeline between target letter and grand jury presentation is typicaly 30 to 45 days. Rarely more than 60.
Most people waste this window. They spend the first week in shock. The second week researching attorneys. The third week having consultations. By the time they actualy hire someone and develop a strategy, half their window is gone.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's been preparing for this moment for over a year. They know every piece of evidence. Every witness statement. Every financial record. They've probably already drafted the indictment. They're just giving you the constitutionally required notice.
The target letter will tell you the crime or crimes your suspected of committing. It will inform you of your Fifth Amendment rights. It will caution you about destroying evidence. And it will give you a deadline to respond - usually 10 to 30 days, though your attorney may be able to negotiate an extension.
What the target letter dosent tell you is how much evidence they already have. It doesnt reveal their witnesses. It doesnt show you the financial analysis thats been conducted. You receive a summary of the charges while they hold the entire case file.
At Spodek Law Group, the first thing we tell clients is that the target letter means one thing: the clock is running. What you do in the next 30 days matters more than what you do in the next 30 months. This is your one opportunity to potentialy influence charging decisions, negotiate favorable terms, or at minimum understand exactly what your facing.
The pre-charge window is where defense counsel can sometimes meet with prosecutors and present exculpatory evidence. Can make arguments about charging decisions. Can negotiate terms of voluntary surrender. Can potentialy prevent charges entirely in rare cases. Once the grand jury indicts, most of that leverage disappears.
The Sentencing Reality Nobody Mentions
Lets talk about what happens if your convicted. There's a persistent myth that white collar crimes mean white collar prisons - minimum security facilities, short sentences, early release. Country club incarceration.
Heres the reality from 2024. Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX founder who misappropriated billions in customer funds? 25 years in federal prison. Former Senator Bob Menendez, convicted of extortion and conspiracy? 11 years. Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes alone (separate from the murder charges)? 27 years additional. George Santos, the former congressman? Over 7 years. The average white collar sentence in early 2025 jumped to 27 months, up from 19 months historically.
These arnt exceptions. Federal sentencing guidelines for fraud are brutal. The amount of loss drives the calculation, and financial crimes often involve large sums - which translates to long sentences. A $1 million fraud can mean 5+ years under the guidelines. A $10 million fraud can mean 10+ years. A $50 million fraud? Your looking at decades.
The guidelines calculate base offense levels based on loss amount. Then they add enhancements. Did you use sophisticated means? Add two levels. Did you abuse a position of trust? Add two more. Did it involve a large number of victims? More levels. Did you obstruct justice? Still more. Each enhancement increases the sentence range.
And heres what really matters - you serve about 85% of a federal sentence. Theres no parole in the federal system. Minimal good-time credit. When the judge says 15 years, you serve approximately 12 years and 9 months. Not a metaphor. Not negotiable.
The idea that white collar crime equals white collar consequences died sometime in the last decade. Prosecutors and judges have decided that financial crimes deserve serious prison time. The cases from 2023 and 2024 prove it.
The Window That's Already Closing
If your reading this because you've received a target letter, or because FBI agents have contacted you, or because your company is "cooperating" with a federal investigation - understand that time is the one resource you cant recover.
Every day without counsel is a day the prosecution uses to strengthen their case while yours sits dormant. Every "friendly conversation" you have without legal guidance creates evidence that can be used against you. Every decision made in panic rather than strategy narrows your options.
The federal criminal justice system isnt designed for second chances. Its designed for convictions. The 97% conviction rate exists because prosecutors only bring cases they know they'll win. If they're bringing a case against you, they believe - with good reason based on 18 months of investigation - that they have what they need.
The question is whether you use the time you have left effectively. Whether you assemble the right defense team before the window closes. Whether you understand that the rules of this game are fundamentaly different from anything you've experienced in business or personal life.
CRITICAL: Your response in the next 48 to 72 hours shapes everything that follows. Not next month. Not after you've "thought about it." Now.
What Actual Defense Looks Like
At Spodek Law Group, white collar defense starts before charges are filed whenever possible. The pre-indictment phase is where we have the most leverage - where we can potentially present exculpatory evidence to prosecutors, negotiate terms of surrender if charges are inevitable, or identify weaknesses in the government's case before it's presented to the grand jury.
Many of our attorneys are former federal prosecutors. We know how these investigations are built because we used to build them. We know what weaknesses prosecutors look for because we used to exploit them from the other side. This isnt abstract knowledge - its first-hand experience with the exact process thats being used against you.
Post-indictment, defense becomes about the trial and sentencing. Challenging the evidence. Questioning investigative procedures. Examining whether searches were conducted legally. Determining if your rights were violated during the investigation. Building mitigation strategies for sentencing if conviction becomes likely.
We scrutinize every element. Was the investigation conducted properly? Were subpoenas issued correctly? Did agents follow proper protocols during interviews? Is there exculpatory evidence the prosecution hasnt disclosed? Can intent actually be proven, or are they inferring it from ambiguous communications?
But heres what Todd Spodek always tells clients - the best outcome in any white collar case is the one where you take action before the system takes action against you. The clients who reach out when they first sense trouble, before the target letter arrives, have options that simply dont exist for clients who wait.
The Call That Changes Everything
The prosecution has had 18 months. You have days. Maybe weeks. That asymmetry is real, and it dosent change because you wish it would.
What changes it is action. Experienced federal defense counsel who knows how prosecutors think, because many of us were prosecutors. Who understands the timing windows. Who can assess your exposure honestly - not what you want to hear, but what you need to know.
White collar criminal defense isnt about magic. Its about expertise applied at the right moment. The system has a 97% conviction rate because it's designed to win. The 3% who beat those odds did it with preparation, strategy, and early action.
Federal white collar investigation represents the full weight of government resources focused on a single target. The FBI. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Sometimes SEC enforcement. Sometimes multiple agencies working together. These arnt underfunded local police departments. These are specialists who do nothing but build white collar cases.
The only way to meet that level of focus is with equally focused defense. Attorneys who understand federal sentencing guidelines. Who know the judges in your district. Who have relationships with the prosecutors office that allow for meaningful pre-charge discussions. Who can evaluate your case honestly and develop strategy accordingly.
Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. Not after you've thought about it. Not after you've consulted with more attorneys. Now. Because the window isnt waiting for you to be ready. And once it closes, it doesnt reopen.
The 18 months they had are gone. The time you have left is measurable in weeks. Use it.
