Borrow goes to prison while CEO of Countrywide walks

Once again, money walks. A man who exaggerated his income on a mortgage application is serving 21 months in prison for a so called, "liar loan" while the CEO of Countrywide paid a $67.5 million fine to settle fraud charges brought by the SEC. Countrywide made billions of dollars selling subprime loans. The CEO personally made hundreds of millions of dollars and admitted that he knew many of the loans were fraudulent. These loans caused the housing bubble and also burst it. These loans are one of the primary factors which led this country into one of the worst recessions since the great depression. Yet the one with the deep pockets walks. Yes. It is a crime to lie on a loan application. But how many millions of people did this during the heyday of the subprime loan? Is the government going to prosecute all of those people? Of course not! How do they pick and choose which ones are going to be prosecuted? Furthermore, wasn't it the greedy mortgage brokers who were "encouraging" their clients to exaggerate their income? Shouldn't they be held responsible? This situation is exactly like the case involving CVS where they sold pseudoephedrine to "meth smurfs" far in excess of the amounts permitted under statute and yet they will not face criminal charges. They merely paid a fine. Meanwhile, the individuals who were buying the cold medicine which contained the pseudoephedrine for a small fee are facing years in federal prison. It is clear that the department of justice needs to get its priorities straight. Stop letting the real bad guys walk, even if they're loaded. Stop wasting tax dollars, which are scarce, to prosecute the little guy. Readmore »»

Why You Should Remain Silent

A man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison this week for attempting to lure a 13 year old girl to meet him for sex over the internet. Ten years is the mandatory minimum sentence for this offense in federal court. The court ordered the man to register as a sex offender for 20 years when he is released from prison. However, in California the sex registration requirement is a lifetime requirement. People convicted of sex crimes in federal court have to abide by the registration laws in the state in which they reside. The man in this case, was actually chatting with an undercover FBI agent posing as the girl. The man, who is 37 years old, testified at his trial that he thought he was chatting with an adult woman, not a 13 year old girl. The jury rejected the man's testimony because his testimony differed from what he had told the FBI when he was interviewed after his arrested. There was no other evidence that the man had any sexual interest in children. If this man had not spoken with the FBI after his arrest, the jury very possibly would have believed his testimony at trial and he might have been acquitted rather than convicted and facing 10 years in federal prison. You should never speak to law enforcement. Agents and officers will always make you believe that it is in your best interest to "cooperate" with them. It is almost never in your best interest. When they say, "Anything you say will be used against you" they mean it! It will be used against you. If you are arrested or under suspicion for committing a crime, always remain silent and call me! Readmore »»

Don't Punch Your Lawyer!

An Orange County Man was convicted of multiple felony charges this week for punching out his laywer. The man was in court on a $100 marijuna ticket when he apparently became angry with his lawyer. The man punched his lawyer in the face, knocked her into a wall and broke her glasses. He pled guilty to felony assault on a public official (his lawyer was a public defender)and aggravated assault and battery with serious bodily injury. The man was sentenced to two years in state prison.

Moral of the story: Don't punch your lawyer! Readmore »»

No Warrant, No Search!

Two young me were stopped by Tustin Police for riding their bikes without propper lighting at 2:00 a.m. The police searched the men's napsacks where they found items that had been stolen from unlocked cars in Tustin Ranch. After finding the items in the mens' backpacks, they confessed to stealing the items. The men were arrested for burglary, receiving stolen property, vehicle tampering and petty theft.

It is most likely that the two men gave the officers consent to search their backpacks. Most people don't realize that unless the police have a search warrant they may not search you, your car, your purse, your house, your phone or any items under your control. There are a few exceptions to this rule. Consent is one exception to the search warrant requirement. However, most people feel intimidated by police officers and will consent to a search because they think they have no choice. You have a choice. In this case, if the boys had not given the police consent to search their napsacks, they would not have been arrested for these crimes. They were not being detained for suspicion of committing car burglaries. They were stopped for riding their bikes without lights. An officer cannot detain someone for longer than necessary without a specific suspicion that a crime has been committed.

These men now face several misdemeanor, criminal charges. An experienced criminal defense attorney should be able to have some of the charges dismissed by the district attorney's office and if the men have no prior criminal history they will most likely be sentenced to community service for their crimes. Readmore »»

Fort Myers Federal Defense Attorney David A. Brener 239-332-1100 To Speak At Panel Discussion About Federal Courts

Fort Myers Federal Criminal Defense Attorney David A. Brener of the Law Offices of Brener and DeMine, P.A. has been invited to speak at a panel discussion on the federal court system. The forum is open to all members of the community and will be attended by a federal district judge from Fort Myers, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, a federal civil law attorney, and David Brener, who will speak about federal criminal defense.
The forum takes place at the County Commissioner's Building (old courthouse) in downtown Fort Myers, on Friday March 25th, 2011, begining at 10:00 a.m.

Brener and DeMine, P.A.
12381 South Cleveland Avenue
Suite 201
Fort Myers, Fl. 33907
http://www.justiceisourpassion.com Readmore »»