Houston Federal Crime Lawyer

While a State crime involves a violation of a statute or ordinance that the State legislature or a local authority has passed, a federal criminal law violation involves a statute that the United States Congress has passed. Federal offenses cover a wide array, including conspiracy as well as fraud, robbery, drug offenses, sex crimes, firearms offenses, immigration crimes, counterfeiting, and money laundering.

Forfeiture is common in federal cases. When a forfeiture occurs, the government confiscates funds or property associated with criminal activity. There are two types of federal forfeiture: criminal and civil. A federal criminal defense lawyer can, on top of defending the federal criminal case, generally handle forfeitures arising out of the federal case.

Because of the complexity of federal criminal law, as well its differences from State criminal law, it is especially important to hire a qualified federal criminal defense lawyer or law firm. Neal has experience and expertise in the defense of federal criminal cases. Before deciding to open his own Houston criminal law office, Neal was a lawyer for over ten years with legendary Texas criminal defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, where Neal established an outstanding reputation in his own right. At the Houston law office of Dick DeGuerin, Neal handled many complex white collar and federal cases. Neal is among an elite group of Texas lawyers who are both Board Certified, Criminal Law--Texas Board of Legal Specialization and in the College of the State Bar of Texas. An authority no less than the State Bar of Texas explains why you should choose a Board Certified lawyer.

On many occasions, Neal has prevented criminal charges based on federal criminal law from being filed or gotten them reduced. He has won federal forfeitures. In a federal criminal appeal, he reversed a federal firearms conviction. Of course, every case is different and individual results may vary depending on the facts of a case. Rest assured, your federal criminal case is as important to Neal as it is to you, as shown in testimonials about him.

For further information, read Neal's blog on federal criminal issues. Here is his popular blog post on white collar crime:

White Collar Crime

White collar crime has gotten a significant amount of press lately due to various Ponzi schemes that have been uncovered.  Not since the days of the junk bond kings has so much attention been paid to this type of crime. This is partly due to the massive amounts of money associated with white collar crimes, and partly because the public, who live on "Main Street," see them as predatory crimes against society and the average citizen.  While many criminal attorneys have experience defending the run-of-the-mill criminal case, like assault or drug possession, few criminal defense firms have the expertise to handle white collar cases.

Examples of white collar crime include fraud, bribery, insider trading, embezzlement, computer crimes, Medicaid and Medicare fraud, tax fraud, and, of course, Ponzi schemes.  In Houston, Harris County, Texas, we white collar criminal lawyers commonly see federal health care fraud and mortgage fraud charges.

White collar criminal attorneys are well-aware of how Ponzi schemes operate.  The mechanics of a Ponzi scheme involve the promoter promising and then delivering abnormally high or consistent return by using investments placed by later investors to pay the earlier investors; no real investments are ever made. The scheme remains viable as long as new investors are enticed to make new investments, thus freeing up the capital needed to pay earlier investors. Because the early investors must be paid an outsized return, it requires more and more capital (often implying an increasing number of investors) to keep things running.  An ever increasing number of new entrants are needed to continue to satisfy the early participants. Thus, at each lower level, the investor base is larger, creating the pyramid structure.  For this reason, Ponzi schemes are often referred to as "pyramid schemes."

White collar crimes are particularly appealing to the press.  These crimes often affect a large number of people because of the high dollar amounts involved and the reach of the people who commit them. Insider trading, for example, can send shock waves through the stock market having impacts that are impossible to trace.

While those accused of white collar crime tend to hold positions of power and influence, their cases are often sensationalized in the media.  Because of the complexity and the subtlety of white collar allegations, prosecutors often make mistakes.  But it takes an experienced criminal lawyer, with expertise in white collar cases, to uncover these mistakes.