Federal Crimes

Published on: January 19, 2022

Feds Indict Baltimore Prosecutor

The Baltimore City State’s Attorney was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on two counts of mortgage fraud and two counts of perjury, and will now be forced to see the criminal justice system from the opposite side for the time being. The indictment comes just a few months before the primary election, which in Baltimore City decides who will sit as acting State’s Attorney for the next four years. The City’s top prosecutor has shown no signs of stepping down and through her attorney has vigorously denied the allegations. Anyone looking for a quick resolution to this matter may be in luck, as the defense is attempting to move the case along as quickly as possible. Numerous Baltimore City public officials have been prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office over the past decade, including two mayors, dozens of police and correctional officers and other local politicians. This particular case was investigated by the FBI and the criminal investigations unit of the IRS, and while the allegations certainly seem serious, a conviction for any criminal activity is far from a foregone conclusion.

The city prosecutor has been under investigation since at least spring of 2021, though the details released back in March only informed the public that a federal grand jury subpoenaed her campaign and bank records. It is unclear at this point whether this indictment ended that investigation, or whether the feds are waiting to present additional charges to a grand jury. The indictment accuses the prosecutor of perjury by lying on an application and unlawfully withdrawing funds from a Deferred Compensation Plan designed to help those who had experienced financial hardship due to the impact of COVID-19. Federal prosecutors pointed out that the prosecutor did not experience financial hardship, and that her salary as State’s Attorney actually increased during the pandemic. The prosecutor’s lawyers responded to these claims stating that she sustained financial losses to businesses unrelated to her public position. In other words, her salary increased, but she suffered enough losses in her other business ventures to justify applying for the pandemic aid.

The mortgage fraud charges are slightly more complicated, and are related to two homes the prosecutor and her husband purchased in Florida. The feds are arguing that when applying for mortgages she failed to disclose a lien that was placed on a property belonging to her husband as a result of $45k in overdue taxes. There is another allegation that the prosecutor made a false assertion on a mortgage application. The government is alleging she failed to disclose an agreement with a vacation home management company in order to secure a lower rate. Defense lawyers for the prosecutor have asserted the prosecutor did not knowingly omit the tax lien, and that the notices sent by the IRS were not received.

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Published on: December 16, 2021

Baltimore Heroin Dealer Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

By Benjamin Herbst

A 28-year-old man from Baltimore recently pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Taken by itself, those facts are hardly an anomaly these days, as the feds have shown a proclivity to prosecute street level drug dealers (especially when heroin and fentanyl are involved). However, the facts surrounding the investigation and eventual arrest are noteworthy. Law enforcement first were alerted to the defendant’s criminal involvement as a result of a fatal heroin overdose that occurred in Harford County in 2017. As is the case with many fatal drug overdoses, law enforcement’s first lead came from the cell phone of the deceased. Police were able to see that the deceased had arranged to meet a person with an alias linked to the defendant in order to effectuate a drug transaction. The deal in question took place in a grocery store bathroom in Baltimore City, which is a common practice to assure there is no video surveillance.

Law enforcement then began tracking the defendant’s movements, and observed him making an alleged drug transaction in a gas station bathroom. The surveillance led to a search warrant, which was ultimately conducted on the defendant’s home and vehicle about one month after the fatal overdose. Police were also able to obtain permission from a judge to install a GPS tracking device on the defendant’s vehicle, another common law enforcement tactic. During execution of the warrant law enforcement recovered a firearm, $12k in cash, 82 grams of cocaine, 55 grams of heroin and 7 grams of fentanyl. Officers also seized a cell phone with the same number that the deceased was texting prior to the overdose. It wasn’t until two years later that a federal grand jury actually indicted the defendant, and now two years after that the case is finally on its way to a resolution. The defendant and the government have agreed to a sentence between 8 and 12 years, and the defendant will learn his fate in March of 2022. Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in this investigation, including the DEA, Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Anne Arundel County Police, Baltimore County Police and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. The defendant has a host of prior offenses and is on probation in Baltimore City for a gun charge. The Blog will follow this case and potentially post again after the defendant is sentenced.

The defendant will receive a stiff federal sentence that is not parole eligible, and could possibly face additional state time for his violation of probation, but he avoided potential prosecution for involuntary manslaughter under Maryland criminal law §2.207. Prosecutors in jurisdictions throughout the state have been filing manslaughter charges against defendants alleged to have sold CDS (typically heroin fentanyl mix) to the victim of a fatal overdose. While the manslaughter charge carries a lower maximum penalty than the actual distribution (20 vs. 10 years), it can increase the overall sentencing guidelines, and drastically influence the State’s offer and the judge’s sentence. If you or a loved one has been charged with any type of drug offense including possession with intent to distribute, firearm possession in a drug trafficking crime or manslaughter, call Maryland criminal defense lawyer Benjamin Herbst anytime for a free consultation. Benjamin specializes in drug offenses and gun crimes, and is available 7 days a week at 410-207-2598. He has extensive experience in all Maryland jurisdictions, and is a skilled federal drug offense lawyer for cases being prosecuted in the Baltimore or Greenbelt federal courts.

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Published on: December 8, 2021

Serial Robber Sentenced to 14 Years

By Benjamin Herbst

A 27-year-old man from Baltimore was recently sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for committing at least 35 commercial robberies throughout Maryland. According to the plea agreement, between December 2018 and November 2019 the defendant robbed pharmacies, fast-food restaurants, cell phone stores and even a gym during a crime spree that eventually ended with him behind bars. The defendant originally pled guilty on October 1 to affecting commerce by robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, which has a 7-year maximum penalty. The robberies took place in Baltimore County and Baltimore City, and were investigated by local police departments as well as the FBI. The case was likely picked up by the feds due to the extent of the crime spree as well as the presence of a firearm.

Many of the offenses were committed in the same fashion, with the defendant approaching a cash register with a note demanding money and stating that the defendant had a gun. Fortunately, there were never any shots fired in the robberies, and nobody was injured. The defendant apparently only brandished his firearm once, though he partially revealed the firearm as many as five times. In at least one instance the defendant ordered employees to open the business safe, but in many other instances the defendant only made out with a couple hundred dollars. He stole as much as $1,900 in one robbery, but that appears to be his most lucrative (temporarily) criminal act.

The defendant will likely serve at least 10-12 years behind bars before being considered for release to a halfway house or other type of early release. There is no parole in the federal criminal justice system, which means this sentence is roughly equivalent to a 20-year state prison sentence. Anyone sentence to a crime of violence such as robbery must serve at least half of their total active incarceration before being considered for parole, and even then, parole is never a foregone conclusion. Obviously, the defendant could have faced exponentially more time if had been charged for each of the robberies in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Combining all the cases in one federal indictment was clearly a more logical option for the government and for the defendant. The defendant will likely be finished with his sentence before he reaches age 40, and the dozens of victims can have some sort of closure now that the case against the defendant is resolved. It appears the defendant had a minor history of theft related charges in state court already, so having 35 robberies combined into one global sentence may have been a break for him.

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Published on: November 23, 2021

Former Governor’s Chief of Staff Pleads Not Guilty

By Benjamin Herbst

A former high ranking official for the Maryland Governor has pleaded not-guilty to four federal charges of wire fraud and two charges of misappropriation. The 52-year-old former chief of staff to the Governor is accused of various missteps including using funds belonging to the State of Maryland to make a charitable contribution to a museum where he was a member of the board of directors. The funds came from the Maryland Environmental Service corporation, where the defendant served as executive director prior to taking a position with the governor’s office in Annapolis. Perhaps the most egregious allegation was that the defendant caused the board at his former employer to approve paying him a full year’s salary, over $200k, upon leaving to take the job with the governor. The defendant apparently told the board that the governor himself approved to so called severance package, though the governor has vigorously denied any such approval. In total, the former chief of staff is facing up to 100 years in prison and tens of thousands of dollars in fines. He will obviously not serve anywhere close to the maximum amount of jail if convicted, but the charges are certainly severe. The government informed the Federal Judge in the Baltimore courthouse that trial would take two weeks to complete, though there is no indication on whether advanced plea negotiations are taking place. Discovery is apparently voluminous, and the defense needs time to assess the case before advising the client.

The same defendant is also facing a 27-count criminal information in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County for various other state offense including misconduct in office and violations of Maryland’s wiretapping laws. There are allegations that the defendant secretly recorded conversations with the Governor and other high ranking state officials. The state case has not been set for trial yet, and has a status conference scheduled in the middle of December. There will likely be a ton of evidence for the defense to sift through in order to properly evaluate the case, so we do not expect a swift resolution. Both cases may end up in trial or the defense may be able to work out some sort of global plea agreement. Right now it is simply too early to tell which direction these cases are headed, but the Blog will post a follow-up article as news becomes available.

Maryland has strict laws regarding the recording or intercepting of private conversations and telephone calls, and each violation is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Even if another person uses or publishes a recording that has been intercepted unlawfully it could be a crime as long the publisher should have known a the recording was illegal. Maryland is considered a two-party state when it comes to recording or intercepting conversations, which means both parties must be aware of the recording. There are exceptions including when the police are conducting active investigations for a host of different crimes including murder, kidnapping, sex offenses, robbery, bribery, fraud, felony theft, firearms crimes and drug distribution. In these cases the police may intercept wire, oral or electronic evidence in order to provide evidence of the crime. The Maryland wiretapping law is codified under Title 10 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings section of the state laws, and not the criminal law section. Subtitle 4 of the evidence part of this section covers wiretapping and electronic surveillance, and section 10-402 is the actual wiretapping law.

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Published on: November 3, 2021

Arsonist Sentenced to 9 Years in Federal Prison

By Benjamin Herbst

The notorious Anne Arundel County arson case that has spanned more than 4 years has finally come to a close, as the defendant received his sentence late last week. On Friday at the Baltimore City federal courthouse the 36-year-old defendant from Pasadena, Maryland was sentenced to 9 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay more than $500 thousand in restitution for his role in burning down a popular neighborhood bar. The man was charged under 18 U.S. Code § 844 (i), which makes it a federal offense to maliciously damage or destroy any real property used in interstate or foreign commerce by fire or explosives. The maximum penalty for this offense is up to 20 years in prison that includes a 5-year mandatory sentence. If any person is injured, including a public officer such as a firefighter, the maximum penalty becomes 40 years with a 7-year mandatory term. Unfortunately, a firefighter was actually injured while attempting to extinguish the blaze after he was thrown off a ladder by the force of a backdraft.

The Blog detailed the facts of this case in a previous post back in April when the plea was announced, so we won’t go over the entire case again. The basic facts were that the defendant was charged with second-degree assault and theft for an incident that occurred at the bar 6 days before the fire. He apparently returned to the bar in an attempt to destroy the surveillance equipment that he believed would incriminate him in the assault case, but ended up burning the entire bar down except for the cameras he sought to destroy. So, not only was the assault captured on the surveillance, but he was also on video making Molotov cocktails and throwing them at the bar. ATF trained K9s also located the presence of gasoline (a common accelerant used in incendiary devices) in the area where the defendant was standing on video.

The defendant ended up being found guilty of the assault in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County and was given a three-year suspended sentence. The theft charge was nolle. prossed by the state as part of the plea agreement, although the defendant was found guilty of another unrelated theft that occurred a few weeks after the fire. He will now serve upwards of 7.5 years behind bars before being released to state and federal probation. Although the exact guideline range that the defendant was assigned is not discussed in the U.S. Attorney’s press release, the base offense level for malicious destruction of property by fire appears to be at least 24. There were aggravating factors that elevated his guidelines including the fact that the fire was started in an attempt to conceal evidence of another offense, which adds two levels. By our estimation it seems the defendant received a sentence at or near the top of the guidelines.

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Published on: October 21, 2021

Correctional Officers Guilty of Racketeering Conspiracy

By Benjamin Herbst

Two former Maryland correctional officers recently pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy for their roles in smuggling contraband into the Chesapeake Detention Facility (CDF). The pleas were entered in the Baltimore City federal courthouse where the pair will be sentenced in a few months. CDF is the federal pre-trial detention facility where most federal defendants in Maryland who are awaiting trial. It is a maximum-security facility across the street from Baltimore City Central Booking that houses approximately 500 inmates. Although it is a federal facility that is controlled by the United States Marshals Service, the jail is run by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Community Supervision pursuant to a business contract. The Maryland DPSCS runs all the state correctional facilities and is one of the largest agencies in the state. The department currently boasts a workforce of approximately 12,000 and a budget of more than $1 billion per year. Correctional officers at CDF are not federal employees but the jail is considered federal property. Therefore, offenses committed on the grounds or within the jail are typically prosecuted in federal court.

The first plea took place last week and involved a 35-year-old female officer from Randallstown in Baltimore County. According to the plea agreement she admitted that beginning in 2017 she smuggled contraband into CDF for multiple detainees, and met with outside facilitators to receive bribe payments and cellphones used to communicate with a specific inmate. DPSCS investigators eventually caught on to the scheme and had federal agents execute a search warrant of the officer’s home in 2020 where they seized cash, marijuana, cell phones and notes from several CDF detainees. The second plea took place this week for a 45-year-old officer from Baltimore. This officer admitted to smuggling liquor into the facility for a detainee and receiving four payments totaling approximately two thousand dollars. Pursuant to his plea, he also admitted to meeting an outside facilitator to pick up a bag containing suboxone strips and tobacco intended to be smuggled inside CDF the next day. Unbeknownst to the officer, investigators had already caught on to his involvement with the smuggling operation and the contraband was interdicted by officers in the facility’s parking lot. The defendant later admitted that the contents of the black bag were intended to be smuggled inside the facility.

Both of the defendants face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy, though they will serve far less than the maximum. Both are likely first-time offenders, and based on the limited facts available from the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release their guideline ranges are estimated to be 24 to 30 months. This is based on an offense score of 19 with a two-level reduction for entering into a plea agreement. Unless the defendants have agreed to a binding “C” plea, the attorneys will likely argue for downward departures in an attempt to keep active incarceration under two years or possibly even home confinement. The government takes public corruption cases extremely seriously, and offenses involving correctional employees are no exception. While nobody was injured during the course of this scheme, the government will almost certainly make the argument that providing cell phones and other contraband to inmates endangered the lives of correctional officers and other inmates. The defense lawyers must be prepared to address these arguments and to humanize their clients in the eyes of the Court.

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Published on: October 15, 2021

Eastern Shore Man Guilty of Federal Drug Distribution

By Benjamin Herbst

This week in the Baltimore City federal courthouse a 40-year-old Salisbury man pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin using the dark web. According to facts presented in the plea agreement the defendant was an active interstate drug distributor on the infamous dark web, which is a part of the internet designed to conceal the identity and location of users through specialized software programs. However, once an individual becomes a suspect in a criminal operation law enforcement officers can then access the web and pose as potential co-conspirators, or in this case buyers. In this particular investigation it appears Homeland Security had an agent pose as a buyer, and other law enforcement agencies in and around Maryland joined forces to build a case.

Per the plea agreement the defendant admitted to distributing heroin throughout the country from his Salisbury apartment and storage unit on the dark web beginning in 2018. During the summer of 2018 an undercover federal agent made two separate purchases of heroin from the defendant via the dark web using bitcoin. The next day after each sale, law enforcement followed the defendant as he proceeded to mail packages from post offices in Salisbury and Ocean City. The packages were seized and opened after search warrants were obtained, and both contained heroin. The defendant continued to conduct heroin sales over the dark web, but his username was inactive for 3 months at the end of 2018. It turned out that the defendant was incarcerated on unrelated charges in Worcester County during this time. Less than a week after his release the defendant’s dark web profile again became active. Following more package seizures and other incriminating evidence, law enforcement obtained a search warrant of the defendant’s home and storage unit in the fall of 2019. Upon execution of the search warrant, police recovered approximately 77 grams of heroin, 41 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of ecstasy (MDMA), 33 grams of meth, 3 pounds of marijuana, cutting agents, scales, drug paraphernalia, $13,796 in cash and a .40 caliber handgun that was stolen from a Federal Air Marshal. Law enforcement also recovered body armor, mailing materials and electronics such as a laptop and several phones. A forensic search of one of the phones revealed a digital wallet containing over $100,000 in bitcoin.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the defendant entered into an agreement where the defendant will serve 5 years of incarceration if the federal judge accepts the plea at sentencing in February. This agreement or “c plea” is akin to a binding ABA sentencing agreement in state court. The defendant has a relatively minor record in Maryland that includes convictions for misdemeanor assault 2^nd degree in Wicomico County and misdemeanor malicious destruction of property in Worcester County. It is unclear whether he has prior convictions out of state. The 2^nd degree assault conviction would prohibit the defendant from owning or possessing a firearm, though it is unclear whether the defendant was charged with illegal firearm possession. The plea agreement may have contemplated this factor, along with other facts and circumstances such as the amount of drugs recovered and the overall scale of the criminal operation.

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Published on: September 17, 2021

Cecil County Man Sentenced for Federal Gun Violation

By Benjamin Herbst

This past week a 30-year-old Cecil County man was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for narcotics conspiracy and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The case was originally prosecuted in the district and dircuit courts for Cecil County located in Elkton, but the feds decided to prosecute as part of their Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, which was developed by the Justice Department in an effort to curb violent crime. While we have posted numerous articles about federal gun and drug prosecutions in the Baltimore and D.C. Metro areas, this case is another reminder that the feds will pick up felony firearm cases in all Maryland jurisdictions.

According to facts presented in the plea agreement, the defendant’s vehicle was pulled over for speeding and failing to stop at a stop sign. Upon initiating a traffic stop the Cecil County Sheriff’s deputy observed the car shake and determined that the driver and passenger had switched seats. This obviously peaked the deputy’s suspicions, though it turned out there was much more in store for the deputy to deal with. Upon asking the two men for their identification, the defendant grabbed the gear shift and told the driver to go. The deputy was able to turn the vehicle off before it could move, but then the defendant took off on foot in an attempt to flee the scene. While attempting to escape the defendant was observed throwing an object that appeared to be a firearm. The defendant was eventually apprehended by police and found to be in possession of $1,802 in cash. Police also recovered a loaded firearm in the area where the defendant fled and a small quantity of marijuana in the vehicle. Finally, deputies recovered a small amount of crack cocaine in the back of the patrol car after the defendant was removed for a medical check. The traffic stop, including the defendant fleeing with what appeared to be a firearm in his hand, was all captured on the patrol car’s dashboard camera.

The defendant was originally charged with 12 state criminal counts including illegal possession of a firearm, loaded handgun in vehicle, handgun on person, obstructing and hindering, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest and CDS possession-not marijuana. He was held without bond while the state case was pending most likely due to the firearm charge and the fact that he attempted to flee from police. Judges often make the conclusion that a defendant is a flight risk and will be unlikely to appear as directed for court if he or she is accused of attempting to flee from police during the original crime. Logically the two are quite different, but this argument often falls short in moving the needle toward release. The case was transferred to circuit court but then dismissed after the feds picked it up a couple months later. Considering the defendant faced a 5-year mandatory prison sentence without parole on the state level, he likely did not receive a much harsher sentence in federal court. A defendant who is sentenced on a 5-year mandatory offense in Maryland state court for a crime such as felon/disqualified person in possession of a firearm may still be eligible to obtain credits for good behavior etc. The defendant’s 52-month prison sentence is pretty close to what he would have served had he been convicted in state court.

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Published on: September 2, 2021

Baltimore Man Asleep in his Car Arrested for Gun Possession

By Benjamin Herbst

The traffic stop has long since been a powerful investigative tool for law enforcement. Performing a traffic stop is perhaps the most common method for police officers to make contact with citizens. While the large majority of traffic stops remain just about the alleged traffic infraction, police are trained to look for signs of criminal activity immediately upon pulling over a vehicle. Sometimes suspects give police reason to escalate the situation by their words or actions, and other times the presence of criminal activity is based on something an officer sees or smells. Of all the traffic stops that an officer conducts, there is one scenario where the driver almost always ends up in handcuffs, and it occurs when the driver is asleep behind the wheel.

Obviously, a sleeping driver’s vehicle is rarely moving when police make contact, but Maryland case law has made it clear that an officer who approaches a parked vehicle is still making a traffic stop for legal purposes. A driver of a parked vehicle may have a legal argument if he or she is awake and not trespassing or committing some other obvious offense. In the case of the sleeping driver however, there will never be an issue about whether the officer has a legal basis to make the stop. Outside of being on private property, sleeping while in control of a motor vehicle is not only a sign that criminal activity may be afoot, but also presents a safety hazard that gives police the authority to investigate for welfare purposes. Most drivers who are asleep behind the wheel will be asked to step out of the vehicle and investigated for signs of drug or alcohol intoxication. A fair amount of DUI cases begin when an officer makes contact with a sleeping driver. In some cases though the stop becomes much more than a DUI investigation.

Back in pre-Covid era of March of 2019 (which seems like a lifetime ago) Baltimore police encountered a man asleep behind the wheel in a Reisterstown Road parking lot. Officers immediately observed signs of intoxication, including the usual slurred speech, and requested the man step out of the vehicle. Apparently in the man’s intoxicated state he forgot that he had a firearm protruding from his waistband, and he was immediately arrested. Police seized the the loaded handgun and subsequently performed a ballistics analysis to see if the firearm had been involved in any prior criminal conduct. As it turns out, the same firearm was discharged in public back in 2017 in a crime that was never solved. While nobody was injured, the incident was still part of an open investigation, and as a result Baltimore County police detectives ended up questioning the defendant about his knowledge of the Owings Mills shooting. Unfortunately for the defendant, he did not assert his right to counsel and proceeded to admit that he was the person who discharged the firearm in public, after taking it during a drug transaction. In exchange for his honesty the police proceed to charge the defendant with felony firearm possession, CDS possession of firearms and discharging a firearm in public.

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Published on: August 24, 2021

Howard County Man Sentenced to 7 Years for Stolen Car Operation

By Benjamin Herbst

Last week in Baltimore City a 49-year-old man from Columbia, Maryland was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison for operating an international stolen car scheme. Upon being released from prison the Howard County resident will be placed on three years of supervised release, as there is no parole in the federal correctional system. According to the facts presented by the government, and pursuant to his plea agreement, the defendant admitted to participating in the theft and exportation of at least 17 automobiles. The cars were either stolen from private owners or from rental agencies, and then shipped overseas after a sale was negotiated. The defendant attempted to avoid detection from customs officials by creating fraudulent paperwork, which misrepresented the contents of shipping containers. Most of the cars were shipped to Africa and likely left from the Port of Baltimore or transported to other ports by truck, though the government’s press release did not reveal the specifics.

Law enforcement caught on to the scheme pretty early in the process, and were conducting surveillance on the defendant as early as January of 2019. During this first encounter, Howard County Police and Homeland Security approached the defendant and questioned him about the stolen vehicles, but the defendant denied any involvement and was not taken into custody immediately. In fact, the defendant was not arrested until March of 2020, giving law enforcement ample time to build a strong case. Search warrants were executed on the defendant’s cell phones that revealed pictures of the stolen vehicles as well as communications to and from shipping companies, and law enforcement also recovered numerous emails from the defendant’s fictitious identity that he used to facilitate the illegal transactions. The defendant was ultimately arrested inside a rental vehicle that was rented through fraudulent means, and was overdue. After being questioned by law enforcement the defendant eventually admitted to knowing that the vehicles he shipped were stolen, and that he misrepresented the contents of containers to the shipping companies he contracted.

The defendant entered a guilty plea to two felony counts of conspiracy to commit interstate foreign transport of motor vehicles and knowingly transporting stolen vehicles. Transporting stolen vehicles under 18 U.S. Code § 2312 is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Unlike a charge for transportation of stolen goods, securities or moneys under 18 U.S. Code § 2314, the government does not need to establish a minimum value of the vehicle(s) in order to prove its case. A felony charge for interstate or international transportation of stolen goods requires a minimum value of $5k. Regardless of whether value is an essential element of the offense, value of the scheme has a dramatic effect on the federal sentencing guidelines score, and the eventual sentence. The estimated value of the cars in this particular scheme was over $850k, which means his sentencing guidelines increased by at least 14 levels based on the value of the scam alone. There were likely other aggravating factors that the judge took into account, as a 7-year term of incarceration is a considerable sentence for a theft scheme with a total value of less than $1 million. As we explain on the firm’s Maryland website, the value of any federal theft is a key factor in determining the likely outcome of a case, and an experienced federal criminal defense lawyer can explain the impact of the sentencing guidelines in more detail.

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