Have You Been Charged With A Serious Crime?

Syracuse Precharge Investigations Attorney

What can you do when you hear from family, friends or acquaintances that investigators have been asking questions about you? Or, even more directly − what if the police ask you to come down to the station to make a (purely voluntary) statement?

If your radar is up and you hear alarm bells in your head, that’s good. It’s time to talk this over with an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately.

Protecting Your Rights − Even Before You Are Charged

I am attorney George F. Hildebrandt, and for over 30 years I have provided focused and dedicated criminal defense services to clients in Syracuse, New York, and beyond. I am very familiar with precharge investigations and know how to protect my clients’ rights effectively. Contact me today to discuss your case.

Cases Where Precharge Investigations Are Common

Precharge investigations are especially common in white collar/financial crimes, drug crimes and sex crimes.

White-collar crime charges such as fraud are often preceded by a lengthy federal grand jury investigation. It can take a lot of legwork to gather all of the financial records needed to pursue these cases involving charges like embezzlement, money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud, or securities fraud. You may get a target letter indicating that you are being investigated. If you do, you should talk it over with your attorney right away so that you don’t make a statement to law enforcement or the grand jury that will harm your interests.

Sex offenses such as rape, date rape or child molestation can also take a long time to investigate, as police obtain statements from neighbors or family members. When they talk with you, they are probably looking for corroboration of something they already think occurred. Don’t offer confessions or admissions that will make their case for them. Instead, get legal advice as soon as possible.

Drug crimes investigations sometimes involve the execution of search warrants or a letter from prosecutors indicating that your conversations have been intercepted on a wiretap. Although you may not have been arrested yet, you may face charges as the investigation concludes. This is a critical time when having a lawyer experienced in drug investigations can advise you on important decisions that may greatly affect whether you are charged, and if so, how your case is resolved.

What I Can Do?

Once I am involved, I can protect your constitutional right against self-incrimination and seek to guide the investigators to exculpatory evidence. I can gather evidence before it becomes unavailable and speak to witnesses while their memories are still fresh. I can also speak to prosecutors and investigators to learn the nature of their investigation and advocate on your behalf before an irrevocable decision to charge you is made.

Contact My Firm

This is a critical time for you. How you respond may make the difference between being charged and not, or between making damaging admissions and not.

Contact me, George F. Hildebrandt, Attorney at Law, today to get the assistance you need from an experienced lawyer during precharge investigations. To schedule a consultation, call 315-350-3980.