Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

Jacksonville is growing rapidly every year in the technological world, making life easier for its citizens every day. However, as technology advances, so does the knowledge and ability of criminals to steal using that same technology. No matter what the reason for the theft, when one is charged with an online theft crime such as this, one should contact an experienced attorney so that one can ensure one’s rights are protected.

According to the Florida Times-Union, the police are investigating a theft crime involving a Wells Fargo account. The Jacksonville police say that $20,495 was stolen out of a man and his sister’s joint account by way of 37 online payments over a period of about 5 months.

Theft crimes in Jacksonville are typically associated with muggings, robberies, or burglaries. However, thieves are becoming more non-personal and operated via cyberspace. As such, most criminals are able at times to get away with online theft. As such, law enforcement, banks, and other online-accessible financial institutions are gearing up their security.

Even though online bank account theft is a relatively new form of theft, the crime itself remains the same, until the legislature makes a new, more specified criminal charge for it. Even though there is not a new charge for the crime, the police and other investigative units have methods of finding out where the money is being stolen from, where the stolen money is going, and most of the time what the money is being used for.

In the case of the Wells Fargo bank account theft, the police have been able to tell that the money stolen was used to pay for a number of different things, including a mortgage, a JEA bill, and a few credit card bills. However, the police are still investigating who was actually responsible for the theft.

One method by which police investigate bank account theft is by tracing where the account was accessed, how and by who’s computer. Unfortunately, people can be arrested for online theft even though they themselves may not have been the actual thief. Someone accused of a crime such as this may see no way out in this particular situation. However, there are defenses than experienced Jacksonville theft crimes attorney can provide:

- the accused did not access the computer at the time the theft was said to occur
- the accused never used the computer at all even though it was registered to the accused
- common public or common private familial usage of the computer
- the accused has no possession of any of any possessions bought
- the accused is not recorded nor is connected to any bills paid

No matter what the particular set of facts, one will normally have a defense that an experienced attorney will use on behalf of the accused to make sure that at minimum, the charges can be reduced, and if possible, have the charges dropped entirely.

Continue reading "Online Thief Hits Wells Fargo Bank Account In Jacksonville" »

According to the Miami-Herald, Stephen Saftler, a Fort Lauderdale man, has been charged with 51 counts of child pornography, uncovered during an undercover task-force investigation. Saftler will be facing some horrid charges and penalties unless he obtains an experienced attorney to fight for his case and present his best defenses.

Saftler was an employee of the ESMO company, a medical equipment company, which had been the owner of the IP address that was used to track down the child pornography. The South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, in conjunction with an undercover detective, were able to find hundreds of pictures and videos of children being sexually abused by adults on Saftler's work computer.

Jacksonville child pornography cases can be some of the most gruesome cases out there. No one likes to see children hurt and abused in the manner in which they are in child pornography. However, this does not deprive the accused of the right to the best defense possible.

There are both state and federal charges available for the defendant to be charged under; however, typically a defendant charged with possession or distribution of child pornography will be charged under federal law. The reason for being federally charged is that with computer crimes involving the Internet, the crime itself is not usually isolated to one state or another, and more so all of the states together.

Even if one is to be federally charged, one can still be charged under state laws. State laws against child pornography tend to be less harsh than the more extensive federal laws; however, both are very harsh.

There are many factors that would establish whether a person found guilty of child pornography based on a federal charge should be given a lighter or heavier sentence. Some of these include:
- criminal record
- whether the defendant is willing to turn evidence against other possible defendants
- willingness to cooperate with prosecution

In many cases, when investigated for child pornography, the accused’s life will be turned upside down in a matter of seconds. Police will be asking questions, personal computers will taken, work computers will be taken, and the investigators will be searching the accused’s home looking for evidence.

One might think that if one works with the police as quickly as possible without resisting that one is willing to come clean and as a result, have an easier time with the entire investigative process. However, cooperating with the police will not ensure this. The best thing to do in this situation is not cooperate until you have contacted an attorney.

In the case of Saftler, he had no choice but to give up his work computer to the task force in charge of the investigation. However, had the computer been his private computer, Saftler would have been able to obtain an attorney first.

There are many times in Jacksonville where people are accused of sending, receiving, buying, and selling child pornography. Some of these people are the victims of wireless Internet theft; others are people who have made the mistake and yet not have the best defense presented for them. No matter what the particular situation, one should acquire an experienced Jacksonville child-pornography defense attorney to fight for one’s case and make sure one’s rights are protected.

Continue reading "Florida Man Charged With Child arrested on Child Pornography Charges During Task Force Investigation" »

Jacksonville recently had the dubious distinction to being the home of one of the country's most infamous defendants when accused hacker Christopher Chaney was arrested and charged with breaking into the e-mail accounts of several celebrities and posting nude photos of some.

But what should be noted is that it took the FBI an entire year to make an arrest and by the information being published, it took Chaney a large amount time to allegedly commit the crimes for which he is charged.

He faces 26 counts in a federal court in Los Angeles related to "Operation Hackerazzi," in which the FBI alleges 50 celebrities fell victim to Chaney's cyber crimes in Jacksonville. With all the media attention -- turning this 35-year-old average citizen into a celebrity himself -- Jacksonville criminal defense attorneys wonder if Chaney can get a fair trial.

In any high-profile criminal case, the court of public opinion can sometimes be as important as the criminal court. Not literally, of course, because only a trial can determine true guilt or innocence (as Casey Anthony would tell you), but every person who watches TV, reads the newspaper or looks at online articles about a defendant is a prospective juror.

That means they can be influenced by what is reported by the news media or blog writers throughout the world. And that means that even in a highly complex case such as this one, jurors may well have already made up their minds without hearing any evidence.

In Chaney's case, he is accused of monitoring celebrity's Twitter accounts, public comments and other social media to gain access to their e-mail addresses. There, he found photos, including nude photos of actress Scarlett Johansson, personal conversations about upcoming projects and other information that he posted online for all to see, according to prosecutors.

He allegedly mined the web for data to use in guessing what the passwords to their accounts might be. And in what may seal his fate, he granted several news media interviews during which he confessed to the activity, saying he did it for the thrill as kind of an obsession.

Cyber crime is a large part of our society, given that so many activities are conducted online. Banking, shopping and everyday operations use computer networks that are susceptible to breaches. Finding out who commit these computer crimes isn't as easy as following an easy to follow paper trail.

Computer networks are extremely complicated and require highly trained people to accurately figure out a person responsible for the actions. And many times, investigators get it wrong. Or they are so overzealous in their pursuit, they violate a person's rights with an inaccurate search warrant request.

Cyber crime is a big problem, but it must be fought diligently yet lawfully. Getting it right is more important than getting a person in custody. And a Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer should be called in to ensure a defendant's rights are upheld every step of the way.

Continue reading "Jacksonville's 'Hackerazzi' Shows Complexities in Cyber Crime Charges" »

News4Jax.com recently reported the case of a Fort White man who pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville to a charge of possessing images and videos of child pornography.

Child pornography charges in Jacksonville typically are handled by federal prosecutors rather than state prosecutors. That's because Internet crimes are typically committed state-to-state and the number of images can affect the jurisdiction. But that doesn't mean a defendant couldn't face state charges.

Regardless of what court the person will be dragged into, the charges are serious and can be punishable by years in prison. That's why immediately contacting a Jacksonville Child Pornography Defense Attorney should be the defendant's first step. If investigated by law enforcement, things will move quickly; police will interrogate you, seek to confiscate your computers and want to search your home. You should refuse them access to your possessions and contact an attorney.

In this case, a 26-year-old man from Fort White recently pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in federal court in Jacksonville. According to the news report, the man faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a possible life term of supervised release.

According to the news station, an FBI agent in Oklahoma was conducting a child pornography investigation and identified a host computer whose Internet service provider led to the Fort White home. In 2009, agents executed a search warrant at the man's home.

The man admitted to collecting child pornography for about a year, according to court documents. Agents found 25 videos and 273 images containing child pornography inside his house and on his computer.

As noted above, a defendant charged with having, making or sending child pornography can be charged either by state prosecutors or federal prosecutors. Under Florida Statute 847.0137, sending child pornography is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

But under U.S. Code Tittle 18, Chapter 110, child pornography charges are much more extensive. Penalties range and can depend on the number of images, the conduct of the defendant and the defendant's criminal history record.

The two systems vary in how they punish convicts. In the state system, penalties are added together based on the number of charges and judges have the discretion to sentence as they wish, within the guidelines of the possible sentence. In the federal system, there is a possible range of imprisonment, based on many factors, including the penalties, the criminal history record, how forthcoming the defendant was, if they provided information about other defendants for other prosecutions and other factors. The judge then must sentence within the range of months or years, unless they have a legal reason to go lower or higher.

The charges can be beaten in either system, but it requires hiring an experienced Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer to fight the allegations. Proving who was using a computer if there are several people living in the house and showing that images were planted through file-sharing web sites, are two possible defenses. Our firm works with clients to present the best possible defense and seek the best resolution in their cases.

Continue reading "Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges in Jacksonville" »

With the Internet being accessible to more and more Americans and people abroad, the number of reported computer-related crimes has skyrocketed in recent years.

And Jacksonville isn't immune. There is a University of North Florida program designed to teach students about computer security, fighting off hackers and other network-related material that is cutting-edge. While stealing money used to only occur if a person walked into a bank or business, criminals can now scour the web to find portals to taking money or clone credit cards for personal use.

But when law enforcement make arrests in these types of cases, they sometimes get it wrong. Committing web-based theft or fraud in Jacksonville requires a great deal of knowledge about computers and networks, the ins and outs of Internet security and the access to commit the crime.

Experienced criminals can sometimes use another person's computer to commit crimes, thus making it appear the owner of the computer was doing the illegal deed. A Jacksonville Computer Crimes Defense Attorney can sort through the evidence and separate the true facts from the allegations in these types of cases.

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a government-based site devoted to tracking web-based crime, Florida had the second highest number of alleged Internet crime perpetrators and the second highest number of complaints nationwide in 2010. Floridians lodged 7.9 percent of the complaints tallied nationwide in 2010.

This shows that not only are more Internet crime operations based out of Florida, but the percentage of people being attacked in these types of crimes are victimized in Florida. And because Florida law enforcement and state attorneys are on high alert because of these numbers, they sometimes are overaggressive in their approach.

In Florida in 2010, according to the agency's annual report, there were 19,878 complaints statewide of internet crimes:

Identity theft: 20.9%
Non-delivery of merchandise or payment: 18.0%
Credit card fraud: 12.9%
Auction fraud: 8.8%
Miscellaneous consumer fraud: 7.4%
Computer fraud: 6.9%
SPAM: 3.5%
Advanced fee fraud: 3.4%
Overpayment fraud: 3.2%
Relationship fraud: 2.3%

The report also states that 7.8 percent of the crimes cost the victims more than $10,000. A majority of the crimes -- 38.5 percent, cost between $100 and $999, while 30.8 percent cost between $1,000 and $4,999. The top dollar amount involved relationship fraud and totaled $235,000, while the reported loss statewide was more than $37 million.

These crimes can be costly and when conducted across state lines can mean a prosecution in the federal court system, which makes the crimes more difficult to beat and sometimes means tougher penalties.

But an aggressive Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney can be used to debunk the prosecution theory by sifting through pages and pages of records, using hired experts to disprove the alleged facts and seek a resolution that most benefits the client. These cases often require an aggressive approach in order to save the defendant from years stuck in prison.

Continue reading "Jacksonville Computer Crimes Add to Florida's No. 2 Ranking Nationwide" »

There are several crimes in Florida that cover computer, or cyber-crime. It is against the laws in Florida to willfully and knowingly (without authorization):

1. Access any computer or computer system or network.

2. Disrupt computer services to authorized users.

3. Destroy or injure equipment or supplies used in computer systems or networks.

4. Introduce contaminant (bugs or viruses) into any computer system or network.

If you commit any of the above and damage a computer or its equipment and the damage is valued over $5000.00 or commit the crime as a scheme to defraud, or interrupt a government operation, you are facing 15 years in prison because the crime is a second degree felony in Florida.

If you commit any of the above and endanger someone's life, you could be arrested for a first degree felony in Jacksonville. If arrested for this felony in Jacksonville, you are facing up to 30 years in prison.