New York Criminal Lawyer Blog

November 16, 2009

Predicate Felons and Second Felony Offenders in NY: How Does a Non-NY Felony Alter Your Status?

Any NY criminal defense attorney experienced in New York criminal law should be able to explain to you that if you are a predicate felon in New York State and charged with a non-controlled substance offense, a second felony conviction will land you in state prison even if your offense is “merely” and “E” Felony. In other words, if you are a predicate felon, as will be explained below, a sentence of state prison is mandatory on felony plea.

Pursuant to New York Penal Law Section 70.06, for one to be deemed a predicate felon or second felony offender, one must have a prior felony conviction in the past ten years. In the event you were incarcerated or on probation, the ten years starts from the completion of your incarceration. This only applies to felonies and not prior misdemeanors. Therefore, while a judge or prosecutor might take the prior misdemeanors into consideration when arranging for a disposition or determining a sentence, from a technical standpoint, the prior misdemeanors will not impact your sentence on a new felony (from a practical standpoint it often does).

November 12, 2009

No Oliver Twists in Pickpocket Crew: Manhattan DA Announces 639 Count Grand Larceny and Identity Theft Indictment

by Jeremy Saland

He may have loved the book, theatrical performance or even the movie, but Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau is not a fan of real life Oliver Twists. According to reports, the New York County District Attorney’s Office unsealed a 639 count indictment involving the arrests of 15 alleged pickpocket crew members. The defendants, including Arthur Franklin, Jospeh Simms, Vincent Franklin, James Mannix, Kathleen Miller, Carol Dibitetto, Larry Ford, Kandra Lysland, Tina Barboza, Mary Bennett and Yvonne Harris are alleged to have stolen over $600,000 and compromised at least 60 bank accounts. The 639 count indictment includes numerous felonies such as Grand Larceny, Identity Theft, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, Conspiracy, Scheme to Defraud, Attempted Grand Larceny, Forgery and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property. It is interesting to note that prosecutors did not charge the defendants with Enterprise Corruption. While there could be numerous reasons, it is possible that the crew had no ascertainable structure, but was alleged to be more consistent with a loose knit band of thieves. Regardless, the scheme is purported to have operated for at least one year before the arrests and indictments.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, vigilant investigators at Chase Bank reviewed video surveillance of fraudulent transactions and noticed a common theme of women wearing wigs and glasses. Further investigation revealed that Arthur Franklin, Vincent Franklin and Joseph Simms were present either inside or outside the bank when the transactions occurred. Chase Bank put the dots together when they learned that many of the victims of the fraudulent bank transactions were also victims of pickpockets.

November 12, 2009

Manhattan DA Demolishes $1 Million Construction Scheme: Contracting Company Caught Allegedly Defrauding Employees Pay

by Jeremy Saland

The Manhattan District Attorney announced the arrest and indictment earlier today of Michael Batalias, Elisavet Batalias, Vassiliki Stergiou and EMB Contracting Corporation for defrauding employees in the neighborhood of $1 million dollars. The defendants are charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. Moreover, Elisavet Batalias was charged with eleven counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree.

According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office:

November 10, 2009

A New York White Collar Criminal Defense Primer: Defining Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First (NY Penal Law 175.35) & Second (NY Penal Law 175.30) Degrees

by Jeremy Saland

While your “average” white collar crime case may not include the offenses of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree (New York Penal Law 175.35) and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree (New York Penal Law 175.30), the former Manhattan prosecutors at Saland Law PC still believe it is important for our readers to have a grasp on this section of the New York Penal Law. Therefore, the following article will address these crimes.

Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree (NY Penal Law 175.30):

November 6, 2009

New York Desk Appearance Tickets (DAT): What to Expect When You Go to Court The First Time & Should You Retain a NYC Criminal Defense Attorney / Lawyer?

by Jeremy Saland

Whether you have been issued a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT or D.A.T.) in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx, the process is the same when you go to court the first time. Generally, it is best to have retained an experienced criminal defense attorney prior to going to court. Why? Upon arriving in court without an attorney, you will bring a copy of your desk appearance ticket to the front of the courtroom and place it in a bin or give it to a court officer. After dropping off your desk appearance ticket, you will wait until the legal aid attorney or 18-b assigned counsel (both “public defenders”) call out your name. This will be the first time you will have the opportunity to discuss anything with your lawyer. That is right. You will not have a chance to talk to your attorney until you are already in the courtroom….you and the other five, fifteen or thirty other defendants. In fact, there could be well over one hundred people just like you waiting to see the judge.

After he or she calls your name, you will have a brief period of time to discuss your case with the attorney. Sometime after that (it could be 30 minutes or it could be a few hours), you and your assigned attorney will go before the judge. At that time, your assigned attorney will enter a plea of “not guilty” on your behalf. After that, depending on the nature of the case, the prosecution may make you an offer. For example, if you are accused of shoplifting and charged with Petit Larceny (NY Penal Law 155.25) or Criminal Possession of Stolen Property (NY Penal Law 165.40) in Manhattan, the prosecutor will likely offer you the violation of Disorderly Conduct (NY Penal Law 240.20). While a plea to this offense will not give you a criminal record and is “sealed,” the arrest and plea may show up on a background check years down the road. Obviously, the ramifications to you may be enormous. This is not to scare you, but a realistic outcome that may not be explored in detail at your arraignment with your assigned counsel. While a plea such as this may “end” your case, it may not be in your best interest and cause future distress and real life problems.

November 2, 2009

Rewarding Official Misconduct in the Second and First Degrees – NY Penal Law Sections 200.20 / 220.22 and Your Criminal Defense

by Jeremy Saland

To the untrained eye, Bribery, pursuant to New York Penal Law Sections 200.00, 200.03 and 200.4 and Rewarding Official Misconduct, pursuant to New York Penal Law Sections 220.20 and 220.22 (all Article 200 crimes), involve very similar elements. In fact, those individuals who are not NY criminal defense attorneys or lawyers may not fully grasp the distinction between these offenses. That being said, William Donnino stated it best when he wrote:

“[B]ribery…[is] concerned with what a public servant ‘will’ do. The crime of [R]ewarding…[O]fficial [M]isconduct [is] directed at rewards to public servants for having previously violated their duty as a public servant.”

October 29, 2009

Manhattan Medicaid & Welfare Fraud Ring Gets a Dose of Law Enforcement: “Operation Free Ride” Nets 19 Individuals for $350,000 Medicaid Theft

by Jeremy Saland

If there is any easy way to make a buck off the health care system, someone is going to make a go for it even if their final prescription calls for an enormous dose of law enforcement. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office just announced the arrest and indictment of 19 individuals (Linda Lai, Stephen Lai, Ibrahim Akdemir, Neil Akdemir, Jing Yao Wang, Zhao Ming, Kin Wai Kong, Wai Wen Mak, Steven Colucci, Sonia Mirizzi, Giulio Minella, Orsola Minella, Diana Downing, Brian Bomeiser, Gurbachan Dhami, Balijinder Kaur, Farhad Lahijani, Natakya Azarova and Eufrocina Caluag) for fraudulently obtaining medicaid benefits in the amount of $350,000. These individuals are charged with Welfare Fraud, Grand Larceny and Offering a False Instrument for Filing. 11 of the defendants allegedly misrepresented on paperwork that they were New Yorkers residing in Manhattan while 8 of the defendants allegedly misrepresented their income and financial resources. Without these misrepresentations, the defendants would not have been entitled to Medicaid.

Although the charges and degrees vary for each defendant, Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Welfare Fraud in the Second Degree is a class C felony punishable by up to 5 to 15 years in state prison, Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree is a class D felony punishable by up to 2 and 1/3 to 7 years in prison and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree is a class E felony punishable by up to 1 and 1/3 to 4 years in state prison.

October 28, 2009

Bank of New York Melon Computer Tech Adeniyi Adeyemi Indicted for Identity Theft of 150 Employees and $1 Million Fraud

by Jeremy Saland

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office issued a press release involving the arrest and indictment of Adeniyi Adeyemi, a computer technician employed by the Bank of New York Melon. The 138 count Identity Theft and Grand Larceny indictment accuses the defendant of stealing the identities of 150 bank employees while perpetrating a $1.1 million dollar fraud. The fraud and thefts were alleged to have transpired from 2001 through 2009.

It is alleged that the victims of these crimes were many co-workers of Mr. Adeyemi who worked in the information technology group of Bank of New York Melon. According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Adeyemi “opened over 30 bank and brokerage accounts in their identities with several financial institutions, including E*Trade, Fidelity, Citi, Wachovia, and Washington Mutual. These accounts served as dummy accounts for the purpose of receiving stolen funds. Mr. Adeyemi then stole money from the bank accounts of charities and non-profit organizations and funneled it into the dummy accounts, later withdrawing the stolen funds or transferring them to a second layer of dummy accounts.”

October 27, 2009

Robin Katz Pleads to Grand Larceny in Manhattan Court: Must Pay $110,000 in Restitution

by Jeremy Saland

Robin Katz, a money adviser at JP Morgan Chase, pleaded guilty earlier today to Grand Larceny after admitting she stole over $100,000 from a client. According to reports, her scheme involved creating an ATM card for the client’s account without his knowledge. At her sentencing, Ms. Katz will receive 5 years probation and be required to pay back her ill gotten gains by a specified date.

As a former Manhattan prosecutor who served under Robert Morgenthau in the same office that prosecuted Ms. Katz, I handled Fraud and Grand Larceny cases well into the multiple millions of dollars. As a criminal defense attorney I have represented clients in Grand Larceny crimes ranging from the tens of thousands of dollars to multiple millions of dollars. Even though I have handled cases on each side of the law, every case requires a unique defense. It is likely that the “paper trail” of evidence was overwhelming in Katz’s case and her approach to the case was to try to mitigate her crime. Was Ms. Katz dealing with substance abuse or mental health issues at the time she perpetrated the crime? Did Ms. Katz show remorse for her actions? What was her ability to repay back the victim and was he “on board” with the plea? All of these issues, and many more, were likely addressed and presented favorably to the District Attorney’s Office.

October 27, 2009

Perjury in New York: NY Penal Law Sections 210.05, 210.10 and 210.15

by Jeremy Saland

Perjury has become a part of everyday vernacular in New York and throughout the United States. Whether you sign something under “Penalty of Perjury” or you watch Law and Order, Perjury pops up everywhere. So, instead of rushing out to a criminal defense attorney after you have been charged, the following is a “primer” on the law of Perjury in the Third, Second and First Degrees (NY Penal Law Sections 210.05, 210.10 and 210.15) in New York: 210.05 Perjury in the Third Degree:

A person is guilty of Perjury in the Third Degree when he swears falsely.