Category: Federal Criminal Defense

It’s not every day that charges of pointing a laser at an aircraft are brought but the offense is more common in Texas than many people believe. Recently the Dallas Morning News reported on how 24-year-old Steven Alexander Chavez Jr. was arrested by federal authorities in Lubbock and charged with one count of aiming a…

A Canadian citizen has been sentenced to a federal prison in Laredo, Texas after being convicted of conspiracy to commit telemarketing fraud. Ragavan Thamby, 53, was sentenced to federal prison following his conviction of one count of conspiracy to commit a $3 million telemarketing fraud, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced, along with Acting Special…

Thomas Jefferson

An activist-journalist from Dallas has been facing more than 100 years in prison over allegations he posted a hyperlink to hacked material. However, the U.S. attorney’s office has now filed a motion to dismiss the bulk of its criminal case against Barrett Brown who has claimed to be the spokesman for the hacking group Anonymous….

There are many alarming statistics about identity theft and the rapid growth of the crime. A recent Today.com story stated about 13.1 million Americans were victims of ID thefts in 2013. The figure was 500,000 more Americans than in 2012. A report released by Javelin Strategy & Research, found somebody becomes a victim of identity…

Human trafficking is described by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as “one of the most heinous crimes” that it investigates. It’s also big business in Texas. In a recent report, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center revealed Texas remained number two in the country in 2013 in terms of the number of calls placed…

Fraud can take many forms in Texas, ranging from multi-million dollar white collar crimes to one woman workers’ compensation scams. In a recent case a woman was sentenced to four years in prison for taking part in workers’ compensation fraud. The Bexar County 379th District Court recently convicted Lakeisha Stevens of San Antonio, Texas of…

A recent sentencing in Texas demonstrates the stiff penalties that can face those accused of distributing child pornography online. The Dallas Morning News reported on how a sex offender from Arlington was sentenced to 40 years in prison on November 15, 2013, after he admitted sharing child pornography online. Recently we noted how the FBI…

New technology changes rapidly and so do crimes associated with it. In a recent report MSN.com reported on how the FBI has added five alleged cybercriminals to its “most wanted” list. They include a former San Diego college student who developed a program called “Loverspy” or “Email PI.” The operation is said to have been…

Those who seek sex with children may be prosecuted at a federal level in the future if a bill introduced in Congress last week becomes law. In the wake of an FBI operation that rescued over 100 children from sex trafficking, Texas Rep. Ted Poe formally announced new legislation to help end what he termed…

The arrest of a man described by the authorities as a member of the Bloods gang in Galveston, Texas, has once again highlighted the issue of organized crime in the state. According to the Houston Chronicle, Christopher Mason, 38, was described as a “career violent offender” and a gang member. He was arrested on the…