Category Archives: Trafficking Charges
Tax Crimes: Known Focus Areas for IRS Taxpayer Criminal Investigations
An increase in federal criminal prosecutions involving alleged federal tax crimes and corresponding violations of federal criminal statutes is expected by many here in Texas, including experienced federal criminal defense lawyers. For details, read our discussion of the May 2024 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Strategic Operating Plan in IRS Summons Form 2039: Federal Criminal Defense…
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Thirteen Significant New Texas Criminal Laws Effective in 2023
Arrests in Texas can be based upon actions or investigations by either state or federal authorities or by a combination of the two in joint operations. From a criminal defense standpoint, the choice of law upon which the arrest is made is key. This is because criminal cases move through two entirely independent justice systems…
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Alien Smuggling in Texas: Federal Felonies & United States Sentencing Guidelines
The Texas border with Mexico extends 1254 miles. Along this international boundary there are currently 28 bridges and border crossings (including a couple of dams and a hand-drawn ferry) for travel between the two jurisdictions. And of course, there are long stretches of open riverbank along the Rio Grande where the waterway provides a natural…
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Overdose Death Investigations: Criminal Defense Considerations – Can the Prosecution Make Their Case?
Fentanyl is fueling more and more law enforcement investigations and criminal prosecutions in Texas for many things including, obviously, felony charges for drug trafficking and money laundering. However, more and more often prosecutors are looking to find ways to charge the accused for a death caused by overdoses involving fentanyl, either used alone or with…
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Cryptocurrency and Money Laundering: Digital Money Felony Arrests
Operation Crypto Runner here in Texas is one example of federal focus on crypto crime. Money mules here in Texas can face very serious felony charges, even if they were unwilling or clueless participants in an illegal scheme that usually involves money laundering. Marks can still get arrested: that is where an experienced criminal defense…
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Encryption and Law Enforcement Investigations: Police Access to Encrypted Data
Last month, Apple announced its new end-to-end encryption for data stored by its customers in iCloud, Apple’s cloud storage service. It’s being heralded as “police-proof” in the media. Read, “Apple Set to Launch New, Police-Proof, Full End-to-End Encryption,” written by the Associated Press and published in the Daily Sabah on December 9, 2022. Apple explains…
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Bail after Federal Arrest in Texas and The Bail Reform Act of 1984
Bail after an arrest by federal law enforcement is very different than when someone enters the state criminal justice system. Texas bail is allowed much more often than it is in federal court. It’s not that bail is not routinely considered a part of federal matters. News coverage is filled with federal bail stories. This…
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Jalisco New Generation Cartel Arrests in Texas: 2023
The amount of law enforcement effort at every level (state, federal, international) to try and combat the growing global business empire of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is undeniably extreme and well-funded. From a criminal defense perspective, few governmental efforts in recent memory have had this zeal and scope. In 2023, we should expect a…
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Are Texas Anti-Smuggling Laws Unconstitutional? Governor Abbott and Texas Penal Code §20.05 and §20.06
Our state government continues to take independent state action using criminal laws to try and stem all sorts of border activities involving both people and things crossing from Mexico into Texas. Recently, for instance, Governor Abbott issued an executive order announcing that two Mexican Cartels, and possibly more in the future, will be considered as…
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Texas Governor’s Designation of Mexican Cartels As Terrorist Organizations: Criminal Defense Perspective
On September 21, 2022, the Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a press release with its accompanying Executive Order GA-42 and the news that, at least in the State of Texas, Mexican cartels are now considered to be “terrorist organizations” by state law enforcement. In the release, Governor Abbott explains that the growing market…
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