Long Island White Collar Crime Attorneys

If you or your company on Long Island has been charged with a white collar crimes, or even if you just suspect that you are under investigation for committing one, you need legal counsel right away. The longer you wait, the further ahead that law enforcement will get in their case against you. This can make it extremely difficult for your defense team to make up the ground and insulate you from criminal liability.

The white collar criminal defense lawyers at Oberheiden P.C. legally represent criminal defendants and suspects, both individuals and corporations, on Long Island, New York.

A White Collar Defense Team Like No Other

Several things set Oberheiden P.C. apart from other Long Island white collar crime lawyers.

First, we focus our defense practice in federal court, where many severe white collar cases are heard, rather than in state court. This makes us very different from most other criminal defense firms on Long Island. Most criminal prosecutions happen in state court, so most criminal defense lawyers spend most of their time in state courthouses. The differences between state and federal court, and the value of having a defense team that is experienced in federal court, cannot be overstated. Federal law enforcement agencies have far more resources than the local district attorney’s office or even the New York State Attorney General’s Office. This means the case against you will be the result of an extremely thorough investigation that often leaves other defense lawyers who only handle state charges overwhelmed. However, the Long Island white collar crime attorneys at Oberheiden P.C. are perfectly familiar with the rigor and the challenges of defending clients against federal charges.

Second, the law firm Oberheiden P.C. is structured differently than most other firms on Long Island or elsewhere. Other law firms tend to have a few extremely experienced partners and senior associates at the top of the firm, and then numerous junior associates beneath them. Many of these junior associates will have only just recently graduated from law school and passed the New York bar exam. Those junior associates, however, will be the ones that do most of the work on your case, often with only occasional oversight from the senior associates and partners who have delegated your case to them. That cannot happen at Oberheiden P.C. because we only employ senior-level lawyers. There are no junior associates or paralegals at our firm to delegate your case to. All of the work on it will be performed by experienced senior attorneys who are former prosecutors whose background made you decide to hire Oberheiden P.C. for your legal needs.

Finally, while the criminal justice system is unique and has its own demands, our white collar crime attorney generally believes in adopting a proactive defense strategy. This is particularly true if you hire our firm early on in your case before formal criminal charges have been filed and the investigation is still in its early stages. While this is not always possible, we have found that challenging an investigation when it has only just begun and is at its weakest moment can be the best way to prevent white collar criminal charges from even being filed at all.

The Types of White Collar Cases Our Long Island White Collar Crime Attorneys Handle

The term “white collar crime” refers to criminal offenses that are:

1. Property crimes

2. Financially motivated

3. Nonviolent

Just a sampling of the common white collar crimes that we handle at Oberheiden P.C. in Long Island are:

• Forgery
• Bank fraud or money laundering
• Securities fraud
• Healthcare fraud
• Mail or wire fraud
• Tax evasion or tax fraud
• Money laundering
• Import/export violations
• False Claims Act violations
• Antitrust violations
• Embezzlement
• Mortgage fraud
• Insurance fraud
• Theft of intellectual property

Many of these are prosecuted by federal law enforcement agencies like the:

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Department of Justice (DOJ)
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

These are some of the largest and most powerful criminal law enforcement agencies in the entire world.

Some Common Defense Strategies We Employ

Every white collar case is unique, as it involves a novel factual situation and a client with personal interests and goals. At Oberheiden P.C., we know full well that each case requires an approach tailored to the particular circumstances.

However, some of the more common defense strategies that we have used in the past on Long Island have been:

• Factual defenses – By attacking the factual allegations that prosecutors are making, we can raise reasonable doubts that their claims are correct. By poking holes in the prosecutors’ narrative of events, it can make it clear that you are not guilty of the crimes you have been charged with
• Suppressing evidence – You have important constitutional rights, not the least of which are to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and compelled self-incrimination. If these rights are violated and evidence is obtained through that violation, we can file a motion to suppress that evidence and keep it out of your trial
• Plea negotiations – In some cases, the evidence against you can be very convincing. Not all is lost, though. We are often able to secure a plea deal that minimizes the worst aspects of the criminal conviction, such as by reducing the prison sentence. If you have any leverage or if you are willing and able to cooperate with the investigation to reduce the severe penalties you are facing, we can guide you through that process, as well

These are just a couple of defense strategies that could be useful in your case, and our Long Island white collar attorneys have experience raising many others, as well.

The Costs of a Criminal Conviction or Civil Liability

Criminal convictions, particularly for white collar offenses, are extremely costly. Federal white collar crime statutes let judges impose significant maximum prison sentences for each criminal count, and prosecutors are increasingly urging judges to impose the maximum allowed by law. Worse, many white collar cases involve multiple charges for the same course of conduct. For example, many cases of securities fraud will also come with a white collar criminal charge for wire fraud, as the allegedly fraudulent activity was done through a telecommunications device. The wire fraud charge, alone, can carry up to 20 years in prison.

While it is essential to avoid the costs of a criminal conviction, the Long Island white collar crime attorneys at Oberheiden P.C. strive to do more than just that. We also understand that you can be held civilly liable for your case, even if you beat the white collar charges. Civil liability can come with massive financial obligations and penalties based on the federal sentencing guidelines, which can cripple you or your businesses’ well-being.

Put our highly experienced team on your side

Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Founder

Attorney-at-Law

Lynette S. Byrd

Former DOJ Trial Attorney

Partner

Brian J. Kuester

Former U.S. Attorney

Hon. Kevin McCarthy

55th Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives (ret.)

Government Consultant

Mike Pompeo

Of Counsel

Former U.S. Secretary of State

John W. Sellers

Former Senior DOJ Trial Attorney

Linda Julin McNamara

Federal Appeals Attorney

Nicholas B. Johnson

Former Prosecutor

Roger Bach

Former Special Agent (DOJ)

Chris J. Quick

Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)

Michael S. Koslow

Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)

Ray Yuen

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

4 Frequently Asked Questions About White Collar Crime Defense and Oberheiden P.C.

Reach Out to the Long Island White Collar Crime Lawyers at Oberheiden P.C.

If you or your Long Island company has been formally charged with a white collar offense, or if you suspect that you are under investigation for one, call Oberheiden P.C.’s national intake hotline at (888) 680-1745 or contact us online.