Can You Be Forced to Decrypt Your Computer?

Andrew Stine — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:11:49 GMT

According to an article posted on CNet, a federal judge in Colorado ruled in January that American citizens can be ordered to decrypt their hard drives to allow police room for more thorough investigations when acting on search warrants for cases that involves things like wire fraud or child pornography. This ruling could truly set precedents in terms of privacy and is encouraging people to argue the Fifth Amendment.

The Fifth Amendment in Question

According to the article, Judge Robert Blackburn ordered a Colorado woman accused of being involved in a mortgage scam to decrypt the hard drive of a laptop computer. She was charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in an attempt to falsify court documents to illegally gain titles to homes near Colorado Springs. Blackburn, ruled that the Fifth Amendment (an amendment that states no one should be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself) does not provide protection from his order.

Blackburn wrote: “I find and conclude that the Fifth Amendment is not implicated by requiring production of the unencrypted contents of the Toshiba Satellite M305 laptop computer.”

This is not the first time this issue has been addressed. In 2010, a federal judge in Michigan stated that a man accused of receiving child pornography did not have to relinquish his password in an effort to protect his invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege. Clearly, these recent events will set a precedent in how legislation interprets Fifth Amendment protection when it comes to encrypted data.

The key to this entire situation is what exactly a password amounts to. Many of the arguments are saying that PGP passphrases are similar to a person holding the key to a safe containing incriminating documents. In this case, a person can be legally compelled to hand over the key. However, the Fifth Amendment shields a person from “compelled testimonial communications,” which protects a person from admitting encryption passwords.

Criminal Defense

If you have been accused of fraud (including wire fraud), and have questions about what documents or files you are required to hand over to the court, contact a criminal defense lawyer immediately.

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What is the Penalty for Wire or Mail Fraud?

Andrew Stine — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:24:14 GMT

Fraud is a criminal act and form of intentional deception perpetrated for gaining profit or personal gain. There are several different kinds of fraud and so Florida legislature has responded with a new act. The Florida Communications Fraud Act is a consolidation of former fraud statutes that considers it to be a crime to defraud another individual through mail, internet, fax, phone, or any form of communication.

Florida Fraud in Boston

According to the Associated Press, four Florida men have been indicted in Boston in a $3 million scheme in which they used application packages nearly identical to a free federal application to scam struggling homeowners out of hundreds of dollars at a time.

The men arrested were 42-year-old Christopher Godfrey of Delray Beach, 40-year-old Dennis Fischer of Highland Beach, 51-year-old Vernell Burris Jr. of Boynton Beach and 34-year-old Brian Kelly of Boca Raton.

According to the Associated Press, “The indictment alleged their company, Home Owners Protection Economics Inc., (HOPE), virtually guaranteed clients a federally-funded home loan modification and charged thousands of customers a $400 to $900 upfront fee.”

The indictment also alleged that many of the applications were denied. The men face charges including nine counts each of wire and mail fraud.

Florida Communications Fraud Act

According to Florida Statute 817.034, any person who engages in a scheme to defraud and obtains property thereby (property meaning anything of value) is guilty of organized fraud. If the amount of property obtained has an aggregate value of $50,000 or more, the defendant is guilty of a first-degree felony. A first-degree felony can result in up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine plus restitution.

Fraud Criminal Defense

If you have been accused of scheming to defraud or of committing any type of fraud, whether it’s mail fraud, mortgage fraud, or wire fraud, you are still entitled to a fair trial. A criminal defense lawyer will conduct his own investigation into your case and will aggressively fight to protect your rights during your case. A criminal defense lawyer will most likely advise you to pay restitution which usually results in the prosecution backing down so your sentence will be mitigated significantly.

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