{"id":7399,"date":"2026-04-14T08:17:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T15:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/izquierdolastg.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=library_post&#038;p=7399"},"modified":"2026-04-17T16:45:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:45:58","slug":"federal-investigation-lawyer","status":"publish","type":"library_post","link":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here&#8217;s How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Criminal Defense\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KMmAniinoqo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<article class=\"dss-content\">Were you at work when federal agents showed up wanting to talk?\u00a0 Did you come home to find a business card from a federal law enforcement agent asking you to call them?\u00a0 Having just sat down to have dinner with your family, did federal agents knock on your door wanting to ask you a few questions?\u00a0 Once the shock wears off, it is very normal to feel anxious and frustrated.\u00a0 All my clients come to me feeling that way at first.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve come to the right place.\u00a0 We want to help educate you on what to expect and understand where you are in the process. \u00a0On this page we try to give you as much information as possible so that you can sift through it all and make educated and informed decisions about your case.\u00a0 Learning you\u2019re under federal investigation is terrifying and we\u2019re here to help. Get started by filling out our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/contact.cfm\">contact form<\/a>\u00a0or by calling our office (305) 707-7345 to schedule your\u00a0<em>4-Point Case Evaluation and Defense Strategy Session<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>First, let\u2019s discuss the most common ways to learn that you have come under federal investigation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Direct Contact<\/u>\u00a0\u2013 Perhaps the most common way to learn that you are under investigation is to learn of it when a federal agent tries to talk to you.\u00a0 There are times when a federal agent may show up at your job in the hopes of speaking with you.\u00a0 Sometimes they will go to your home, and if you are not there, they will leave a card asking you to call.<\/li>\n<li><u>You\u2019ve Got Mail<\/u>\u00a0\u2013 You may receive a letter from an Assistant United States Attorney letting you know that you are in their crosshair.\u00a0 This letter informing you that you are a target of a federal investigation is called a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/library\/what-to-do-if-you-get-a-target-letter.cfm\">target letter<\/a>.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><u>Subpoena<\/u>\u00a0\u2013 Another common way to learn that you are under federal investigation is by receiving a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/library\/federal-grand-jury-subpoena.cfm\">Grand Jury subpoena<\/a>\u00a0seeking documents or testimony.<\/li>\n<li><u>Warrant<\/u>\u00a0\u2013 Perhaps the least pleasant way to learn that you are under investigation is to have federal agents come to your house armed with a search warrant.\u00a0 It is common for them to show up early in the morning in order to execute the search warrant.<\/li>\n<li><u>Grapevine<\/u>\u00a0\u2013 Lastly, you may commonly learn that you are under federal investigation from friends, business associates or prior business relationships.\u00a0 It is perfectly normal to want to inquire further, ask your friends questions and learn as much as possible.\u00a0 CAUTION: This information may make its way back to federal agents investigating you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are a few of the ways you can learn that you are under federal investigation.\u00a0 Now that we got that out of the way, let\u2019s turn to how you can be proactive and protect yourself.\u00a0 First, let\u2019s discuss what you shouldn\u2019t do.\u00a0 A lot of times what you don\u2019t do can help you more than actually doing something.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><\/div>\n<h2>What NOT to do<\/h2>\n<p>It is probably best to not discuss the investigation with anyone besides your lawyer.\u00a0 While you should speak with an attorney about your investigation, you should not speak with: law enforcement, witnesses or anyone that could be called as a witness.\u00a0 Conversations with your lawyer are privileged and protected.\u00a0 Your conversations with anyone else could come back to bite you.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with speaking with the government.\u00a0 Under most circumstances it is best to have your lawyer speak with the government (i.e. agents and prosecutors) on your behalf.\u00a0 As you are probably aware, anything you say to law enforcement can and will be used against you.\u00a0 Therefore, if you are contacted by federal law enforcement agencies (or any law enforcement for that matter) exercise your right to counsel and remain silent.\u00a0 It\u2019s your right and it\u2019s there for your protection\u2014use it.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if you choose to speak with the government for whatever reason, don\u2019t lie.\u00a0 Lying to federal investigators is a crime that can be\u2014and often is\u2014prosecuted. If you are reading this and have already spoken with federal agents about your investigation, please take notes of everything that was said to them so that you may review it with your lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>Next, do not talk to other people about the investigation.\u00a0 This is difficult to do.\u00a0 I get it, you\u2019re under a lot of stress, you\u2019re feeling frustrated and extremely anxious as a result of the fact that you have come under federal investigation.\u00a0 Fight the urge to discuss the case with anyone other than your attorney.<\/p>\n<p>First, if you speak with someone that may be a witness and decide that it would be a good idea to remind them about what they should say or how things went down a little differently than the way they initially remember them, you could be charged with obstruction of justice.\u00a0 The facts are the facts and the witness\u2019 memory is the witness\u2019 memory.\u00a0 There is nothing you can do here except hurt yourself by tampering with witnesses and possibly obstructing justice.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to being prosecuted for an additional crime and\/or facing enhanced penalties for obstruction of justice, witnesses that you speak with can either be subpoenaed or contacted by federal agents.\u00a0 Again, what you said to them can be relayed to a grand jury or a federal agent and will do nothing but hurt you.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, do not destroy documents or conveniently \u201cmisplace\u201d evidence. \u00a0\u00a0This, too, is a crime. Do not delete or alter documents, especially electronic documents.\u00a0 You\u2019re unlikely to outsmart the government by deleting key values, modifying files or doctoring spreadsheets that are valuable to the government.\u00a0 This is another example of obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n<h2>What to do<\/h2>\n<p>Not to sound clich\u00e9 but the first thing you should do is seriously consider hiring a lawyer.\u00a0 Ideally you want to find a lawyer that has experience handling federal investigations.\u00a0 If you\u2019d like more information on how to do that, check out my article on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/library\/how-to-hire-a-federal-criminal-defense-lawyer.cfm\">hiring a federal criminal defense attorney<\/a>.\u00a0 This is not the time to give someone a chance to help you out for free, or simply make a phone call to see what\u2019s going on or use that really nice lawyer who did your will a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the greatest benefit to you when you hire an attorney and are yet to be charged, is information.\u00a0 Once you have hired an attorney, the two of you can work together to learn what\u2019s going on and where you stand in the investigative process.\u00a0 If you were already contacted by the government then you are on their radar.\u00a0 Your lawyer should reach out to the agent or prosecutor in order to get more information about your investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The benefit of this is twofold; not only can your lawyer gain information about what\u2019s going on with the government\u2019s investigation but now that you\u2019re being represented by a lawyer the agent and\/or prosecutor should talk to your lawyer instead of you thus protecting you and ensuring that nothing incriminating is said.\u00a0 Your lawyer is there to protect you.\u00a0 Let them do your talking for you.<\/p>\n<p>If you learned that you are under investigation through word of mouth, this is a bit more delicate.\u00a0 It may be that you are not a target of an investigation.\u00a0 You may be just a witness, or a subject at the moment and the government simply has not yet made contact with you.\u00a0 However, more troubling is the idea that you may not even be on the government\u2019s radar and how reaching out to them can affect you.\u00a0 If this is the case, your lawyer can help you think through your options and whether you should contact the agent and\/or prosecutor at all.\u00a0 The decision is very fact-sensitive and case-specific.\u00a0 An experienced lawyer can help talk through that decision.<\/p>\n<p>Your lawyer\u2019s job during a federal investigation is to gather information and provide counsel in order to avoid (or minimize) surprises as well as protect your interests as they work toward obtaining the best possible result for you.\u00a0 Therefore, you should work with your lawyer to give them all the relevant information relating to your investigation. Assist them in collecting any documents that could be relevant to the investigation and may help to tell your story.\u00a0 These documents include, but are not limited to: bank records, emails and other records you may have kept. Be honest and upfront about what you know and what happened.<\/p>\n<p>If you are here today because you feel frustrated about being under federal investigation and it is disrupting your life, we should talk.<\/p>\n<h2>Have You Been Charged With A Federal Crime?<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve been charged with a federal crime you need to speak with an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/practice_areas\/federal-crimes.cfm\">experienced federal crime attorney<\/a>\u00a0as soon as possible.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/contact.cfm\">Contact me online<\/a>\u00a0or call me at my Miami office directly at\u00a0<a href=\"tel:305-707-7345\"><strong>305.707.7345<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n<table class=\"myDSSlinks\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/library\/how-to-hire-a-federal-criminal-defense-lawyer.cfm\">How To Hire a Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/faqs\/what-to-expect-at-initial-appearance-in-federal-court.cfm\">What to Expect at Initial Appearance in Federal Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/blog\/conspiracy-federal-murder.cfm\">Understanding Federal Conspiracy to Commit Murder Charges: Your Legal Options<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"dss-footer\">\n<h4><strong>Our\u00a0<em>GUARANTEE\u00a0<\/em>to You:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>We\u00a0<strong>guarantee\u00a0<\/strong>to take our time discussing your case.<\/p>\n<p>We\u00a0<strong>guarantee\u00a0<\/strong>this will be different than what most other lawyers offer when the say \u201cFree Consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u00a0<strong>guarantee\u00a0<\/strong>that we will\u00a0<em>actually\u00a0<\/em>discuss your case in detail rather than try to scare you while we sell our services and brag about ourselves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Were you at work when federal agents showed up wanting to talk?\u00a0 Did you come home to find a business card from a federal law enforcement agent asking you to call them?\u00a0 Having just sat down to have dinner with your family, did federal agents knock on your door wanting to ask you a few&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7399","library_post","type-library_post","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here&#039;s How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself - Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here&#039;s How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself - Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Were you at work when federal agents showed up wanting to talk?\u00a0 Did you come home to find a business card from a federal law enforcement agent asking you to call them?\u00a0 Having just sat down to have dinner with your family, did federal agents knock on your door wanting to ask you a few...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T23:45:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/library\\\/federal-investigation-lawyer\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/library\\\/federal-investigation-lawyer\\\/\",\"name\":\"Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here's How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself - Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-14T15:17:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T23:45:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/library\\\/federal-investigation-lawyer\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/library\\\/federal-investigation-lawyer\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/library\\\/federal-investigation-lawyer\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Library Posts\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/library\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here&#8217;s How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/\",\"name\":\"Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.\",\"description\":\"Miami Criminal Defense Attorney and DUI Lawyer\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/logo_nav.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/logo_nav.webp\",\"width\":300,\"height\":142,\"caption\":\"Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.izlegal.com\\\/es\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here's How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself - Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/","og_locale":"es_ES","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here's How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself - Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.","og_description":"Were you at work when federal agents showed up wanting to talk?\u00a0 Did you come home to find a business card from a federal law enforcement agent asking you to call them?\u00a0 Having just sat down to have dinner with your family, did federal agents knock on your door wanting to ask you a few...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/","og_site_name":"Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.","article_modified_time":"2026-04-17T23:45:58+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Tiempo de lectura":"7 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/","url":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/","name":"Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here's How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself - Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-14T15:17:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-17T23:45:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/federal-investigation-lawyer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Library Posts","item":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/library\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Are You Under Federal Investigation? Here&#8217;s How to Find the Right Lawyer and Protect Yourself"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/","name":"Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.","description":"Miami Criminal Defense Attorney and DUI Lawyer","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/#organization","name":"Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A.","url":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/logo_nav.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/logo_nav.webp","width":300,"height":142,"caption":"Izquierdo Law Firm, P.A."},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_post\/7399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/library_post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.izlegal.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}