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Westchester County Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers
Westchester County is part of the Southern District of New York – SDNY. That’s not just a geographic designation. SDNY is called the “Sovereign District” because it operates with an independence and aggressiveness that no other federal prosecutorial office in America matches. The same prosecutors who brought down Bernie Madoff handle cases from Westchester. The […]
read moreATF Traced a Gun Back to Me – What Happens Now
ATF Traced a Gun Back to Me – What Happens Now You just learned that a firearm you once owned has been traced back to you by ATF. Maybe you got a call. Maybe agents showed up at your door. Maybe you received a letter requesting an interview. Whatever form the contact took, you’re now […]
read morePolice Found My Gun at a Crime Scene – ATF Wants to Talk
A gun you sold three years ago just turned up at a murder scene. You haven’t thought about that gun since the day you sold it. Now ATF agents want to talk to you about a homicide you knew nothing about until they knocked on your door. Your first instinct is to explain – to […]
read moreATF Showed Up Asking About a Gun I Sold – Should I Talk to Them
ATF Showed Up Asking About a Gun I Sold – Should I Talk to Them Two ATF agents are at your door. They’re polite. Professional. They mention a gun you sold three years ago at a gun show – one you barely remember. They say they just want to “clear a few things up.” They’re […]
read moreWhat Should My Prescription Policies Emphasize?
Your prescription policies should emphasize one thing above all else: documentation that proves you practiced medicine. Not documentation for documentation’s sake. Not paperwork to satisfy bureaucrats. Documentation that creates evidence – evidence showing your prescribing had legitimate medical purpose, evidence showing you monitored patients appropriately, evidence showing you responded to warning signs. When DEA investigators examine your […]
read moreNassau County Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers
Nassau County is in the Eastern District of New York – EDNY. That federal district covers Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau, and Suffolk. The same federal prosecutors who handle Brooklyn organized crime also handle Nassau financial fraud. The same courthouse that sees drug trafficking cases from Queens sees tax evasion cases from Great Neck. If your facing […]
read moreFederal Gun Trafficking Investigation
Federal Gun Trafficking Investigation – How Multiple Purchases Trigger ATF Attention You bought six handguns over the past three months. All legal purchases. All from licensed dealers. All with clean background checks. You passed every requirement. You broke no laws. But somewhere in an ATF office, your name is in a file. An algorithm flagged […]
read morePhiladelphia Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers
Philadelphia, PA Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers Welcome to Spodek Law Group. If federal agents have contacted you in Philadelphia – if you’ve recieved a target letter, if investigators showed up at your business, if your attorney told you the Eastern District is looking at you – this article will tell you what your actually facing. […]
read moreMay I Prescribe Controlled Substances to Family Members?
The short answer is: you shouldn’t. But the question itself reveals a deeper problem. There is no explicit federal law prohibiting you from prescribing controlled substances to family members – yet doing so almost always violates the standards that make a prescription legal. The DEA requires every controlled substance prescription to be issued for a “legitimate medical […]
read moreFederal Gun Charges at Airport – TSA Checkpoint Discovery
You legally own the gun. You have a concealed carry permit. You carry every day for protection. This morning you grabbed your everyday bag, drove to the airport, and walked through security. Now you’re standing in handcuffs while TSA officers and local police sort through your belongings. The same firearm that’s completely legal on the […]
read moreBronx County Criminal Lawyers
Bronx County Criminal Lawyers The Bronx is the only New York City borough that sits on the mainland. It’s connected to Manhattan by bridges, but it’s geographically part of the continental United States in a way Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island aren’t. This geographic distinction doesn’t matter much for daily life, but it shapes the […]
read moreHow Can I Protect My Practice from a DEA Investigation?
The protection you need happens before you know you need it. That’s the uncomfortable truth about DEA investigations that nobody wants to hear. By the time agents appear at your practice with a Notice of Inspection, they’ve already gathered prescription data, compared your prescribing patterns to other doctors in your specialty, and quite possibly sent […]
read moreSuffolk County Criminal Lawyers
Suffolk County Criminal Lawyers Suffolk County covers 912 square miles – it’s the largest county in New York State outside the Adirondacks. That sounds like a geography fact, but it’s actually a criminal defense problem. When you get arrested in Montauk, you might be 70 miles from the courthouse in Riverhead. When you get arrested in Huntington, […]
read moreJoint Defense Agreement in Federal Criminal Case
Here’s the uncomfortable truth about joint defense agreements in federal criminal cases. The same agreement designed to protect you and coordinate your defense with co-defendants can become the trap that destroys your case when one of those co-defendants decides to cooperate with the government. And in federal court, the question isn’t WHETHER a co-defendant will […]
read morePhoenix Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers
Phoenix Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers The District of Arizona is the third busiest federal court in the entire nation. Six percent of every federal criminal case in the country comes through this district. Thirteen judgeships, all of them filled, and still the system is overwhelmed. Every judge in Arizona federal court has thirty-four percent more […]
read moreNew York County Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers
New York County Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers The Southern District of New York is the most powerful federal prosecutor’s office in America. It’s not close. SDNY has prosecuted Wall Street executives, international terrorists, mob bosses, and sitting politicians. Names like Preet Bharara, Rudy Giuliani, and James Comey built their careers there before moving on to national prominence. […]
read moreFederal Clinical Trial Fraud Charges – What You Need to Know
Federal investigators are prosecuting clinical trial fraud at rates never seen before. If you conduct clinical research – as a principal investigator, study coordinator, or site owner – you need to understand what federal prosecutors are looking for. Here is the first thing you should know: clinical trial fraud prosecutions result in serious federal prison […]
read moreCo-Conspirator Hearsay Rule in Federal Court
Here’s the uncomfortable truth about federal conspiracy prosecutions that changes how you think about evidence at trial. Someone you’ve never met, whose statements you never heard, can have their words used against you in court. The co-conspirator hearsay exception under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E) allows prosecutors to introduce out-of-court statements made by alleged co-conspirators as evidence […]
read moreKings County Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers
Ninety-eight percent of federal criminal defendants plead guilty. That number should stop you cold. It means that out of every hundred people charged with federal crimes in Brooklyn, only two actually go to trial. Everyone else takes a deal. This isn’t because federal defendants are more guilty than state defendants. It’s because the federal system is […]
read moreFederal Nursing Home Fraud Charges – What You Need to Know
Federal investigators are prosecuting nursing home owners and operators for Medicare and Medicaid fraud at devastating rates. If you own or operate a skilled nursing facility, you need to understand what federal prosecutors are looking for. Here is the first thing you should know: nursing home fraud prosecutions result in some of the longest sentences […]
read moreFederal Gun Charges for Domestic Violence Misdemeanor
Federal Gun Charges for Domestic Violence Misdemeanor A misdemeanor. The “minor” crime. The charge your lawyer said was “the best deal we could get.” That misdemeanor domestic violence conviction now makes every gun in your house evidence of a federal felony. Not a state violation. A federal crime carrying up to ten years in federal […]
read moreFederal Machine Gun Charges – Automatic Weapons
Federal Machine Gun Charges – Automatic Weapons A $20 piece of metal that takes seconds to install carries the same federal penalty as possessing an actual military M16. Ten years in federal prison. The device doesn’t have to be attached to anything. It doesn’t have to be functional. That little piece of machined steel or […]
read moreFederal Charges for Guns and Drugs Together
Federal Charges for Guns and Drugs Together The gun doesn’t have to be used. It doesn’t have to be loaded. It doesn’t have to be in the same room as the drugs. If federal prosecutors can connect a firearm to your drug activity – ANY connection, no matter how thin – you face a mandatory […]
read moreFederal Ghost Gun Charges – Unserialized Firearms
Federal Ghost Gun Charges – Unserialized Firearms The Supreme Court settled the ghost gun question in March 2025. Seven to two. The ATF’s Frame and Receiver Rule stands. What used to be a gray area is now clearly federal territory. If you built ghost guns thinking you were in a legal loophole, that loophole just […]
read moreFederal Charges for Selling Gun That Was Used in Crime
Federal Charges for Selling Gun That Was Used in Crime When a gun shows up at a crime scene, ATF traces it. Every time. The trace follows a path from manufacturer to distributor to dealer to the first retail purchaser. That person – the original buyer – is the starting point of every investigation. Even […]
read moreLied on Form 4473 – Federal Charges
Lied on Form 4473 – Federal Charges The federal crime happens the moment your pen leaves the paper. Not when you walk out with the gun. Not when the background check comes back denied. Not when ATF shows up at your door months later. The crime is complete the instant you sign a false statement on […]
read moreBought a Gun for Someone Else – Straw Purchase Explained
Bought a Gun for Someone Else – Straw Purchase Explained The difference between a thoughtful gift and a 15-year federal prison sentence is a single checkbox on a federal form. That’s not an exaggeration. That’s the reality of how straw purchase law works in the United States. You walk into a gun store, you buy […]
read moreFederal Dental Medicaid Fraud Charges – What You Need to Know
Federal Dental Medicaid Fraud Charges – What You Need to Know Federal investigators are prosecuting dentists for Medicaid fraud at alarming rates. If your practice bills Medicaid for dental services – especially pediatric dental services – you need to understand what federal prosecutors are looking for. Here is the first thing you should know: dental […]
read moreHow Can I Prepare My Healthcare Practice for a Worst-Case Scenario?
Preparing your business for the worst-case scenario isn’t about preventing investigation. It’s about surviving investigation if it happens. The worst-case scenario for a physician prescribing controlled substances is losing your medical license and going to federal prison. That’s not hypothetical. Physicians have received life sentences for opioid prescribing. The question isn’t whether this could happen to you […]
read moreFederal Podiatry Medicare Fraud Charges – What You Need to Know
Federal Podiatry Medicare Fraud Charges – What You Need to Know Federal investigators are prosecuting podiatrists for Medicare fraud at increasing rates. If your practice bills Medicare for podiatric services, you need to understand what federal prosecutors are looking for. Here is the first thing you should know: podiatry Medicare fraud prosecutions result in devastating […]
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