Criminal Defense of Federal Employees

Last Updated on: 1st June 2025, 02:07 pm

Criminal Defense of Federal Employees: When Your Badge Becomes a Target

When federal agents knock on your office door, badge in hand, asking to speak with you – that’s when you realize, your federal employment isn’t a shield. It’s a bullseye. You spent years building your career, passing background checks, maintaining your clearance, climbing the GS ladder. Now you’re facing criminal charges that threaten not just your freedom – but your pension, your healthcare, your entire professional identity. Federal employees facing criminal charges face a unique nightmare scenario, one where traditional criminal defense strategies can actually make things worse, because most attorneys don’t understand the intricate web of administrative regulations, clearance requirements, and parallel proceedings that can destroy a federal career faster than any criminal conviction.

The moment you become a target of a federal criminal investigation as a federal employee, you’re not just dealing with the Department of Justice.

You’re dealing with your agency’s Office of Inspector General, the Office of Personnel Management, possibly the Merit Systems Protection Board, and if you hold a clearance — which most federal employees do — you’re also dealing with your agency’s security office. Each of these entities operates on different timelines, with different standards of proof, and most dangerously – they share information with each other in ways that can turn a minor criminal investigation into a career-ending catastrophe. A simple allegation of timecard fraud that might result in probation for a civilian, can trigger an OIG investigation, a proposed removal action, a clearance suspension, and a Brady/Giglio letter that permanently bars you from testifying in court – effectively ending careers for law enforcement officers, attorneys, and anyone whose job requires credibility.

The Triple Threat: Criminal, Administrative, and Security Consequences

Government workers don’t just face criminal penalties – they face a coordinated assault on their careers from multiple directions. When you’re accused of a crime, your agency doesn’t wait for a conviction. They immediately initiate administrative investigations that run parallel to the criminal case, often using lower standards of proof. While prosecutors need proof beyond a reasonable doubt, your agency only needs a preponderance of evidence to fire you. This means you can be acquitted of criminal charges and still lose your job, your retirement, and your benefits. The security clearance process adds another layer of jeopardy – any criminal charge triggers a review that examines not just the alleged crime, but your response to it, your candor during the investigation, and whether the allegation shows poor judgment or unreliability.

Your agency might demand statements for their administrative investigation while you’re asserting your Fifth Amendment rights in the criminal case.

Refuse to cooperate with the administrative investigation, and you’re fired for insubordination. Cooperate, and your statements can be used against you criminally under Garrity warnings that many lawyers don’t fully grasp. Meanwhile, your security office is making independent determinations about your continued eligibility for access to classified information – and they don’t care that you’re presumed innocent. They operate under Executive Order 12968 which allows suspension based on mere allegations if there’s a question about your reliability or trustworthiness.

Common Federal Employee Criminal Charges That End Careers

Those in federal service face unique criminal exposure because of their positions. Procurement fraud devastates contracting officers who may have made honest mistakes in complex acquisitions. A Contracting Officer’s Representative who accepts a $50 lunch from a contractor, can face bribery charges under 18 U.S.C. § 201, with penalties up to 15 years in federal prison. The contractor might offer the lunch innocently, but prosecutors see a federal employee taking something of value from someone they’re supposed to regulate.

Time and attendance fraud – what civilians call “wage theft” – becomes a federal crime when you’re a government employee.

That medical appointment you didn’t properly record on your timesheet, those 15 minutes you left early without approval – each instance is a potential false statement under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, carrying up to 5 years in prison. Misuse of government property creates criminal liability in ways that shock federal employees. Using your government computer to check personal email seems harmless, until you’re charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § 641 – conversion of government property. That government vehicle you drove two blocks out of your way to grab coffee, That’s potentially a criminal act.

Federal employees in sensitive positions face even greater exposure. False statements on security clearance forms – the dreaded SF-86 – turn innocent mistakes into felonies. Forgetting about that arrest from college 20 years ago, or not listing every foreign contact, becomes a prosecutable offense under Section 1001. The form is 127 pages long, asks about your entire life history, and any error can be characterized as a deliberate lie.

Why Your Cleared Colleagues Who Got Caught Made Fatal Mistakes

Government employees who encounter legal troubles typically hire attorneys who treat their case like any other criminal matter. These attorneys focus exclusively on the criminal charges, ignoring the administrative and security consequences that actually destroy careers. They might negotiate a great plea deal that avoids jail time, only to discover their client loses their clearance anyway because the plea allocution demonstrates “lack of candor” or “questionable judgment.” They don’t understand that for federal employees, avoiding conviction isn’t enough – you need to avoid any admission or finding that triggers administrative or security consequences.

The lawyers who don’t specialize in federal employee defense aren’t aware of Giglio v. United States, which requires prosecutors to disclose credibility issues about government witnesses.

For federal law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and anyone who testifies as part of their job, a Giglio letter is career death. Even if you avoid criminal conviction, if prosecutors issue a Giglio letter saying you’re not credible, you can never testify in court again. Your agency will reassign you to a position that doesn’t require testimony — if such a position exists. More often, they’ll propose removal because you can no longer perform the essential functions of your job. Regular criminal defense attorneys don’t know to negotiate specifically to avoid Giglio implications, they don’t understand that certain plea agreements trigger automatic Giglio letters, while others don’t.

The Clearance Catastrophe: How Criminal Charges Trigger Security Reviews

Your security clearance is your career lifeline, and criminal charges trigger immediate scrutiny under the Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4) adjudicative guidelines. Guideline J (Criminal Conduct) is obvious, but criminal charges also implicate Guideline E (Personal Conduct), Guideline D (Sexual Behavior) if applicable, and potentially others. The clearance reviewers don’t wait for criminal conviction – they make independent determinations based on the “whole person concept,” examining not just the alleged conduct but your response to it. Did you self-report immediately? Did you demonstrate remorse? Are you accepting responsibility or fighting the charges? Each of these factors weighs into their decision, creating a minefield where asserting your innocence criminally can be used against you administratively.

Your criminal attorney advises you to remain silent, assert the Fifth Amendment, make the government prove their case.

Your clearance attorney warns that refusing to cooperate with security investigators demonstrates “lack of candor” and “unwillingness to comply with rules and regulations.”

You’re literally forced to choose between defending yourself criminally and saving your clearance. Experienced federal employee defense attorneys know how to navigate these competing demands, using tools like Kalkines warnings and limited use immunity to protect both your criminal and clearance interests. But attorneys who don’t regularly handle federal employee cases don’t even know these tools exist.

Building Parallel Track Defenses: Criminal and Administrative Strategies

Successful defense of federal employees requires what we call “parallel track defense strategy” — simultaneously defending the criminal charges while protecting your employment and clearance. This means understanding how each system works, their different timelines, standards of proof, and most importantly – how they interact. When the FBI arrests a federal employee, they typically notify the employing agency within 24 hours. Your agency immediately places you on administrative leave, begins proposing adverse actions, and notifies security officials who suspend your clearance pending investigation. Each of these actions has specific deadlines for response – miss them, and you’ve waived critical rights. The administrative process moves faster than the criminal case, operating under different rules. Your agency will issue a proposed removal letter, giving you 30 days to respond.

They’ll use the OIG report, which uses a preponderance standard, not the criminal beyond reasonable doubt standard.

This means they can fire you based on evidence that wouldn’t support criminal conviction. Worse, if you’re a probationary employee, you have almost no rights – they can terminate you immediately without cause. Our strategy involves using each forum to benefit the others. We might use administrative discovery to learn about the criminal case, or negotiate criminal pleas that specifically preserve administrative and clearance options. Deferred prosecution agreements can allow employees to keep working while charges are pending, or plea agreements structured to avoid mandatory removal triggers have saved careers.

Case Study: The VA Doctor Who Beat Procurement Fraud Through Strategic Defense

Dr. Sarah Chen, a Veterans Administration physician, faced procurement fraud charges for allegedly steering contracts to a medical equipment company run by her brother-in-law. The criminal charges carried up to 20 years in prison, but Dr. Chen’s real concern was losing her medical career and federal retirement after 18 years of service. Traditional criminal defense would have focused solely on beating the charges or negotiating a plea. Instead, we implemented a parallel track defense that recognized the criminal charges were actually the least of her problems.

The VA had already proposed removal.

Her clearance was suspended.

The state medical board had opened an investigation that could revoke her license.

Our investigation discovered the prosecution’s case relied heavily on emails taken out of context and a misunderstanding of federal procurement regulations. But more importantly, we found that the VA’s administrative investigation violated her Weingarten rights by denying union representation during questioning. This violation got her statements excluded from the administrative proceedings, while simultaneously we negotiated with prosecutors using the same information. The result: criminal charges dismissed, administrative removal reversed, clearance reinstated, and medical license preserved. But this only worked because we understood all four proceedings and how to leverage each against the others. A traditional criminal defense attorney would have missed the Weingarten violation, wouldn’t have known how to use it administratively, and Dr. Chen would have lost everything even if she beat the criminal charges.

Unique Defenses Available Only to Federal Employees

Those working in government have special defenses unavailable to regular criminal defendants, but only if your attorney knows they exist. The Public Policy Defense protects whistleblowers who violate regulations while exposing wrongdoing. If you leaked classified information to expose waste, fraud, or abuse, you might have protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act, even though you technically committed a crime. The Statutory Authority Defense applies when you acted under color of federal authority – many actions that would be crimes for civilians are legal when done by federal employees in their official capacity.

But prosecutors often overcharge federal employees, forgetting that their positions grant certain authorities.

Kalkines immunity is a powerful tool unique to federal employment. When your agency compels statements during administrative investigations, those statements can’t be used against you criminally. But the immunity only applies if properly invoked, and prosecutors often try to use these statements anyway, hoping defense attorneys don’t know about Kalkines. Similarly, Garrity warnings protect public employees from being forced to choose between self-incrimination and job loss. Statements made under threat of termination can’t be used criminally, but only if your attorney knows to raise this defense. Cases have been withdrawn entirely when prosecutors realize their key evidence is immunized statements that an inexperienced attorney might have let in.

Protecting Your Pension While Fighting Charges

Federal employees face unique financial pressures during criminal proceedings.

You’re immediately placed on administrative leave – sometimes paid, often unpaid.

Your legal fees mount while your income stops.

Meanwhile, your pension hangs in the balance. Under 5 U.S.C. § 8336, certain criminal convictions trigger automatic forfeiture of your federal retirement, even if you’ve worked 30 years. A conviction for bribery, abuse of public office, or national security crimes means losing everything you’ve earned. But here’s what many don’t realize – the forfeiture provisions are specific and technical. Plea agreements can be structured to related charges that avoid pension forfeiture, preserving hundreds of thousands in retirement benefits. The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) has specific provisions about maintaining eligibility during criminal proceedings. If you’re removed for criminal misconduct, you might lose employer contributions to your TSP, accumulated sick leave value, and enhanced retirement calculations.

But if you retire or resign before removal, you might preserve these benefits.

The timing of resignation versus removal versus retirement creates complex strategic decisions that require expertise in both criminal law and federal personnel regulations. Some clients take disability retirement during proceedings, preserving benefits while fighting charges. Others resign at specific points to lock in certain benefits before adverse actions complete.

Timeline Critical

Federal employee criminal cases involve multiple overlapping deadlines that can doom your defense if missed. When criminal charges are filed, your agency typically issues a proposed indefinite suspension letter within 5 days.

You have only 10 days to respond.

Miss this deadline, and the suspension becomes final without recourse. Simultaneously, your clearance is suspended, triggering a Statement of Reasons (SOR) that gives you 30 days to respond with mitigating information. Miss this deadline, and your clearance is revoked automatically. Meanwhile, if you’re law enforcement, prosecutors issue Giglio determinations that must be challenged immediately or become permanent. The criminal case proceeds on its own timeline, with arraignment, discovery, and trial deadlines. But the administrative and security processes don’t wait for criminal resolution. Your agency can remove you before trial, your clearance can be revoked before conviction, your professional licenses can be suspended based solely on charges.

This creates pressure to resolve criminal charges quickly, often to your detriment. Prosecutors know federal employees can’t afford prolonged proceedings – every month of delay means more financial pressure, more career damage, more pension risk. They use this leverage to force unfavorable pleas. Experienced federal employee defense attorneys counter this by accelerating favorable proceedings while delaying unfavorable ones, using administrative victories to pressure criminal dismissals.

Why Spodek Law Group Understands Federal Employee Defense

At Spodek Law Group, we don’t just defend federal employees against criminal charges – we protect careers, clearances, and retirements through integrated defense strategies. Our team includes attorneys with federal employment backgrounds who understand the unique pressures you face. We know the difference between Garrity and Kalkines, understand MSPB procedures, can navigate security clearance appeals, and most importantly – we know how to use each proceeding to benefit the others.

When federal agents knock on your door, you need attorneys who see the whole battlefield, not just the criminal charges.

Todd Spodek has represented federal employees from agencies across the government – FBI agents accused of misconduct, IRS employees charged with unauthorized access, DoD contractors facing procurement fraud, intelligence community members with clearance issues. Our experience shows how traditional criminal defense fails these workers, and we’ve developed strategies that protect not just your freedom, but your career. Our 24/7 availability means we’re there when OIG investigators show up at your home, when your clearance is suspended without warning, when you need immediate guidance on whether to cooperate with administrative investigations while criminal charges are pending.