Las Vegas Internet Crimes Defense Lawyer
The number of prosecution for internet crimes continues to grow each year at both the federal and the state level. Some of the most common types of internet crimes are identity theft, wire fraud, illegal gambling, downloading of child pornography, and using the internet to lure children. Convictions for federal identity theft charges carry serious sentences. Often federal prosecutors will insist on requiring a plea agreement to contain one count of aggravated identity theft. This is a crime that tacks on an additional two years to your sentence requiring the sentences to run consecutively. Wire fraud prosecutions usually involve charges of money laundering or anything as broad as using the internet for an illegal purpose. But there are defenses to these crimes. Often prosecutors use informants who are themselves working off criminal charges. What I do is file motions to compel the prosecutors to release the identity of their informants since I have the right to cross-examine the witnesses. This can put the prosecutor and law enforcement in a situation they don’t want to be in since if they reveal the identity of the informant, they will not be able to use that same informant again since his or her identity is now compromised. Often law enforcement has spent years working with an informant and don’t want to stop using this person just to obtain a conviction against you.
Charges of possession and distribution of pornography are often both prosecuted at the federal and state level and mandate lifetime reporting as a sex offender. Federal charges of possession of child pornography require a mandatory minimum of five years in prison without any chance of early discharge or parole except for the standard 15% of the sentence that is reduced for “good time” credit. Internet crimes related to luring children are frequently prosecuted at both the federal and state levels. If charged federally, the mandatory minimum for a conviction of enticement of a minor is 10 years in federal prison minus the standard 15% reduction for “good time” credit. In enticement of minor or luring of children through the internet charges, often I raise the defense of entrapment. I find that law enforcement often oversteps their boundaries and undercover officers go in to adult chatrooms or respond to adult postings on sites such as Craigslist pretending to be minors. Other times I have challenged the constitutionality of the law itself. For instance, I was able to get a case dismissed where a client of mine was convinced to drive to Northern Nevada from Las Vegas and was arrested by law enforcement. The evidence against him was overwhelming – he met a supposed minor on the internet who was actually an adult working with law enforcement. The person working with law enforcement chatted with my client for weeks and told him to come to Northern Nevada where they were to meet at a hotel and to bring a certain type of marital aid. My client obliged and was arrested. It appeared the prosecutors had a slam dunk conviction because of the lengthy sexually explicit text messages and the marital aid which corroborated their case since my client would not be able to credibly assert that the he was not the same person who had been communicating on the internet with the person who was pretending to be a child. But the prosecutors did not expect that I would challenge the constitutionality of the statute which I did. I convinced the judge to throw the case out and my client walked away free.
In another recent case, a client of mine was being investigated for downloading child pornography. Law enforcement had been notified by his cable provider that he was visiting sites known for child pornography. I was able to convince the police to not turn the matter over for prosecution. I showed them the weaknesses in their case and they agreed that they could not prove the case against my client.
If you or a loved one has been arrested or is being investigated for any type of internet crime, do not talk to the police or FBI agents who come to your door. You have every right to remain silent – so use it! Tell them that you want to exercise your right to remain silent and that you want an attorney. You can call my office immediately 24 hours/7 days a week to speak to live person from my office.
