not that i care too much, but fyi:
1. federal law enforcement agencies (including sec) never contact "targets" of their investigations until they've just about completed their investigations. this avoids 5th amendment problems. subpoenas can be issued in the most vague language which may or may not have anything to do with the putative target. just because you haven't been contacted yet means nothing.
2. federal agencies are never unsure about what is legal or not. they may be right, may be wrong, but they're never in doubt. their confidence in their own knowledge is what creates opportunities for the criminal defense bar. vindicating oneself from the consequences of one of their "errors" can ruin one financially.
3. sec regs and securities laws don't have to updated for the internet. never underestimate the creativity of a prosecutor, particularly a federal one, or a regulatory enforcement agency to adapt existing law to a plethora of new situations. think of all the different situations to which mail fraud and wire fraud have been applied, so that regardless of the underlying criminal act, the person is doing time in federal prison for mail fraud or wire fraud.
4. if you suspect the sec might be investigating you, retain counsel sooner rather than later. once the sec does contact you, you can safely infer that they believe they have a pretty darn good case against you. retain counsel early, have your counsel contact the sec, and work that way.
5. remember also that the lawyers that work for the sec, the dept of justice, and us attorney's office-- particularly, say in the southern district of new york (manhattan) are some of the best and the brightest attorneys in america (with a few exceptions, of course). you have to get up pretty early to get a jump on them.
good luck |
