New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
“Hate” is a relative term in this context, but its fairly reasonable to assert the NYPD (or any police department), District Attorneys and local, city and Supreme Court criminal judges hate Identity Theft. Its not such a great leap for a New York Identity Theft attorney, an accused or a bail bondsman to make. What is there to like about it? It costs New York City, New York State and the United States, both privately and governmentally, hundreds of millions or billions of dollars? And no, merely because you are accused of a New York Identity Theft crime amounting to merely a few hundred or a few thousand dollars will not give you a pass. To that end, one recent Saland Law PC client is likely ecstatic that multiple stupid mistake did not land the client in prison for a minimum of two to four years. Not only was this client arrested in Brooklyn (Kings County) and facing indictment for multiple counts of Second Degree Identity Theft (New York Penal Law 190.79), Second Degree Forgery (New York Penal Law 170.10) and a handful of misdemeanors including Petit Larceny (New York Penal Law 155.25), Fifth Degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property (New York Penal Law 165.40) and Third Degree Identity Theft (New York Penal Law 190.78), but this client was previously convicted of Third Degree Grand Larceny (New York Penal Law 155.35) thirteen months earlier in Manhattan (New York County). While the New York criminal lawyers and Identity Theft attorneys at Saland Law PC did not represent the client on prior the felony conviction, due to this conviction any new felony plea would require a minimum of two to four years in prison and a potential maximum of three and one half to seven years in prison. Due to the diligence and advocacy of Saland Law PC, the crash and burn finality as mandated by law upon a conviction was completely avoided.
Because we will not and do not share client information in a capacity that could lead to that client’s identification, the general allegations involved an arrest for multiple felonies after our client’s employer found out our client had used the personal information of another to use the company accounts and purchase items online. There was nothing to convoluted are overly scheming. In fact, the acts attributed to our client were fairly straightforward and easily corroborated. Recognizing the severity of what our client faced, the client reached out to the criminal defense lawyers at Saland Law PC to arrange for our client’s surrender in Brooklyn to the NYPD. Not only did this enable our lawyers to protect our client’s right to remain silent, we arranged for a surrender time and date to limit the embarrassment and anxiety of the police showing up at our client’s home or work unexpectedly and hauling our client off to a waiting police car. Moreover, because we could prepared in advance for our client’s surrender, it enabled our attorneys to monitor the criminal case and help expedite through the criminal process to best ensure our client did not spend a night in jail. While the court ultimately did not set bail, Saland Law PC made contact with a family member who was present with the means to secure the client’s release if necessary.
Regardless of all of the background and factual allegations of this particular case, the relevant issue here is that being prepared will not exonerate you, but allows you and your counsel to be ready, confront accusations and respond to a criminal or felony complaint. Preparation may be based in facts, evidence, witnesses or mitigation materials. In this particular case, preparation and diligence made the difference between avoiding an indictment, felony, or misdemeanor and securing a non-criminal violation.
To learn about the crimes of Identity Theft, Forgery, Grand Larceny, Petit Larceny and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, you can go to any of the websites identified below or follow some of the hyperlinks listed in this blog entry. Even more valuable, you should speak with your own counsel or criminal lawyer so you can allow him or her to apply your allegations to the law and determine the most appropriate defense.
Saland Law PC is a New York criminal defense law firm founded by two former prosecutors who served in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The New York criminal lawyers and former New York Assistant District Attorneys at Saland Law PC represent clients throughout New York City and many surrounding suburban counties.