Steps To Take If Under Federal Investigation in Virginia

If you think that you may be under federal investigation in Virginia, the following are the steps you need to take to ensure that you are protected as much as possible. For more on the steps you can take, call and schedule a consultation with a Virginia federal defense attorney today.

First Steps To Take Under Investigation

The very first step is to contact an attorney and to get an attorney involved in the case as soon as possible. You need to tell your attorney everything that you know about the investigation and everything that you know that you think can be used against you. It may very well be that you feel you have done nothing wrong. However, confiding in and telling an attorney everything that has been going on will help him or her to try to stave off the investigation and hopefully prevent charges from being filed.

For example in a case recently, a person was an employee of a company which was under federal investigation. She then found out that she was also under investigation by the federal government for her activities and her role within that company. She then sat down and went through all of the evidence with a defense attorney who determined that the federal government was looking at the wrong person.

The defense attorney then reached out and spoke to the U.S. Attorney handling the investigation and disclosed the reasons why he thought the government was looking at the wrong person, at which point the government found out the attorney was right and agreed not to pursue charges.

Subsequent to that time, many executives of that company have in fact been charged with crimes and the company itself was charged with a crime, but this client who was wrongfully investigated was cleared.

While this is a specific example and may not apply to every investigation, it does go to show how a defense attorney can help even before any charges are filed.

What Qualities Should You Seek From An Attorney To Deal With An Investigation?

Experience in these circumstances is everything. You need an attorney who knows how to talk to the government attorney. U.S. Attorneys are a very unique set of prosecutors in the sense that they have a very specific way they go about doing things. Hiring an attorney who has dealt with cases like this in the pre-arrest, pre-indictment stage is absolutely critical. If you are going in there as an attorney who does not really know the way things work in the federal system behind the scenes, you are going to be at a disadvantage.

Potential Options For Dealing With An Investigation

There are a number of options on the table including meeting with federal agents or providing information, however it really depends on the nature of the investigation and quite frankly, what you might have done. If it looks to your attorney like meeting with the government would only help solidify their case against you, then the attorney will advise against that and suggest that steps be taken to prepare for your defense. However, if truly no crime has been committed and the federal government has made a mistake, then meeting with the federal agents or the U.S. Attorneys involved with the investigation can certainly be a good idea. Only a seasoned attorney who has the kind of federal experience necessary will know how best to proceed in your case.