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MIAMI AND FORT LAUDERDALE CONSPIRACY ATTORNEY
Attorney
Representation in Miami, Florida Since 1984
The
definition of conspiracy is as follows: an agreement
between two or more people to commit an act prohibited
by law or to commit a lawful act by means prohibited
by law The
three most common federal statues that exist in
which criminalize certain agreements are:
1. Title 18 U.S.C. § 371 – When two or
more people decide to conspire to violate a federal
law such as bank, mail, securities fraud and/or
public corruption.
2. Title 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h) – When two
or more people decide to conspire to launder money
or to engage in a monetary transaction based on
from illegal activity;
3. Title 21 U.S.C. § 846- When two or more
people decide to conspire to manufacture and/or
possess with an intent to deliver a controlled substance.*
* To
be convicted under code 21 U.S.C. § 846, the
government does not need to show that the defendant
committed any obvious act in furtherance of the
conspiracy.
Possible
Penalties:
1. Title 18 USC § 371 –A person may be
found guilty of a felony, put in prison for up to
5 years, and fined up to $250,000.
2. Title 18 USC § 1956(h)-A person may be found
guilty of a felony, put in prison for up to 20 years,
and fined up to $500,000 or twice the value of the
property involved, whichever is greater.
3. Title 21 USC § 846 – Dependent on
the type and amount of drug involved a person may
be found guilty of a felony, put in prison up to
life and fined up to $4,000,000.
The punishment
is per transaction for all three types of conspiracies
listed above. For example, if one conspires with
others to commit mail fraud, to commit money laundering,
and to commit drug trafficking, the potential punishment
above may be life plus 25 years.
Most
often, the State’s Assistant U.S. Attorney
(AUSA) will secure a Federal Indictment from a Federal
Grand Jury and charge a defendant not only with
conspiracy, but also with mail fraud, wire fraud,
bank fraud, public corruption, RICO crimes, securities
fraud, drug crimes or money laundering. One should
also be aware that since 1987 parole has been abolished
in the Federal System. Expungement (removal of conviction
from public records) is also not available.
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