A federal charge is not a larger version of a state charge. It is a different system, with different investigators, a different prosecutor, a different set of rules, and a different sentencing structure. By the time most people learn they are under federal investigation, that investigation has often been running for months.
Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. has represented clients in criminal matters since 1997. Mr. Sris is the Owner and Founder and is a former prosecutor, admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York.
Most Virginia criminal cases begin with an arrest and are charged by a prosecutor working from a police report. Federal cases usually run the other way around.
A federal case typically begins with a long investigation by an agency such as the FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, or a joint task force. Evidence is assembled before anyone is charged — subpoenaed records, wiretaps, financial tracing, cooperating witnesses, and search warrants. Charges are then presented to a federal grand jury, which returns an indictment.
By indictment, the government has usually spent months organizing documents, communications, and witness accounts. A defense that starts at arraignment starts behind.
Federal cases frequently involve tens of thousands of pages, forensic extractions from devices, and financial datasets. Reviewing that material is the work, not a preliminary to it.
Federal sentencing turns on guideline calculations driven by loss amounts, drug quantities, victim counts, role in the offense, and criminal history. Two people charged under the same statute can face very different numbers. Guideline calculations are one input into a sentence, not the whole of it.
Whether to respond to a target letter, whether to sit for an agent interview, whether to produce documents, and whether to seek counsel before charges issue are choices that shape the case that follows.
The firm represents clients in Virginia facing federal charges across the following categories.
Mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, health care fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, false claims, embezzlement, theft of government property, and conspiracy to commit fraud.
18 U.S.C. § 1341 reaches a scheme to defraud or to obtain money or property by false or fraudulent pretenses where the mails or an authorized depository are used to execute the scheme. Maximum of 20 years, increased to 30 years where the offense affects a financial institution.
Money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements. These charges frequently accompany a fraud or narcotics count and are calculated separately at sentencing.
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute, distribution, importation, manufacturing, operating a drug-involved premises, and continuing criminal enterprise.
21 U.S.C. § 841 makes it unlawful to knowingly or intentionally manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or to possess with intent to do so, a controlled substance. Mandatory minimums depend on the substance and the quantity attributed to the defendant — which is why quantity attribution is often contested.
Felon in possession, use of a firearm in a crime of violence, possession of a firearm in a drug trafficking crime, unlawful dealing in firearms, possession of an unregistered firearm, and possession or use of a machine gun.
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) makes it unlawful for a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm or ammunition — a prohibition that lasts unless the conviction is expunged, set aside, or pardoned.
Bribery of public officials and witnesses, acceptance or solicitation of a bribe, kickbacks, extortion under color of official right, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters, antitrust matters, and federal tax charges.
26 U.S.C. § 7201 — federal tax evasion is a felony reaching a willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax or its payment.
Obstruction of justice, witness tampering, retaliating against a witness, perjury, subornation of perjury, destruction or falsification of records, and false statements to a federal agent.
18 U.S.C. § 1503 covers corruptly endeavoring to influence, intimidate, or impede a grand or petit juror or a court officer, or corruptly obstructing the due administration of justice, and carries a maximum of 10 years.
Bank robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, assaulting a federal officer, extortion, conspiracy to commit an offense, attempt, aiding and abetting, accessory after the fact, and misprision of a felony.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act matters, identity theft, aggravated identity theft, access device fraud, criminal copyright infringement, illegal re-entry after deportation, bringing in and harboring aliens, immigration document fraud, and visa or permit document fraud.
Receipt, distribution, and possession offenses, sex trafficking of a minor, coercion and enticement, transportation for illegal sexual activity, and failure to register as a sex offender.
18 U.S.C. § 2252 carries mandatory minimum terms and mandatory sex offender registration on conviction, which makes pre-charge and pre-plea posture consequential.
Virginia is divided between two federal trial courts.
Sits in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk, and Newport News. Handles matters arising from Northern Virginia, the Richmond area, and Hampton Roads.
Sits in Roanoke, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Danville, Abingdon, and Big Stone Gap, covering the Shenandoah Valley, Southside, and Southwest Virginia.
Appeals from both districts go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond. Which district a case lands in matters: scheduling practice, motions practice, and local rules are not uniform across the two, and neither resembles a Virginia circuit court.
A pre-indictment matter, a target letter, a search warrant already executed, and a returned indictment are four different situations calling for four different responses. The first conversation establishes which one you are in.
Discovery review is the substance of federal defense work. That means the affidavits behind the warrants, the grand jury materials that are producible, the agent reports, the device extractions, and the underlying financial records — not a summary of them.
Whether the search was lawful, whether the statements were voluntary, whether the wiretap met its requirements, whether the charged conduct actually fits the statute, and whether the quantity or loss figure the government proposes is supportable are all contestable.
Guideline drivers — loss calculation, drug quantity, role adjustments, enhancements, acceptance of responsibility, and criminal history category — are addressed from the beginning of the case, not after a plea.
You should understand what is happening in your case, what the realistic range of outcomes is, and what each decision costs before you make it.
Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. was founded in 1997 and maintains client locations in Virginia at Fairfax, Richmond, Ashburn, Arlington, and Woodstock, with additional locations in Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. All locations are by appointment.
Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder, is a former prosecutor and is admitted to practice in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York.
Practice before a federal district court requires separate admission to that court's bar; admission to a state bar is not the same thing. Any attorney appearing on your matter will be admitted or admitted pro hac vice in the district where the case is pending.
Additional attorneys serve in an Of Counsel capacity and contract directly with the firm.
Firm practice is limited to Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York.
Federal cases are investigated by federal agencies, charged by federal prosecutors, and tried in a United States District Court under federal procedural rules. They usually begin with a lengthy investigation and a grand jury indictment rather than an arrest. Sentencing is calculated using federal guideline factors such as loss amount, drug quantity, role in the offense, and criminal history, rather than Virginia's state sentencing structure.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk, and Newport News, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, sitting in Roanoke, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Danville, Abingdon, and Big Stone Gap. Appeals from both go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
A target letter means the government has identified you as a subject of a grand jury investigation. You are not required to speak with federal agents, and statements made to a federal agent can themselves become the basis of a separate charge for false statements. Speaking with a lawyer before responding lets you understand what is being asked and what the consequences of each response are.
Section 841 makes it unlawful to knowingly or intentionally manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or to possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance. Mandatory minimum sentences under the statute depend on the substance involved and the quantity attributed to the defendant.
A sentencing judge considers the federal sentencing guideline calculation together with the statutory sentencing factors. The guideline calculation is driven by facts specific to the case, including loss amount, drug quantity, the number of victims, the defendant's role, and criminal history. Where a statute sets a mandatory minimum, that minimum constrains the outcome. Guideline calculations are one input into a sentence, not the whole of it.
No. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. does not offer free consultations. To request a consultation regarding a federal criminal matter in Virginia, call (888) 437-7747.
Mr. Sris is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. Federal district courts require separate admission to that court's bar, and appearance in a district outside those states may require admission pro hac vice. Whether the firm can appear in a particular district is addressed at the consultation.
Call to request a consultation. All locations are by appointment. The firm does not offer free consultations.
