FBI Raided My House

FBI Raided My House

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is answering the question behind the question. If you’re searching “FBI raided my house,” the chaos just happened. Agents are gone now. Your home is destroyed. Your belongings are scattered. Your sense of safety is shattered. And you’re trying to figure out what just happened and what happens next.

Here’s what defense attorneys know that changes everything about your situation: the raid you just experienced isn’t the beginning of your legal problems. It’s the near-end of an investigation that’s been running for 6-12 months. The FBI didn’t show up at your door on a hunch. They showed up because a federal magistrate reviewed months of accumulated evidence – bank records, witness statements, subpoenaed documents – and signed a warrant authorizing the search. The raid is one of the final steps in an investigation you never knew was happening.

Think about what this means for your current reality. You feel like everything just started. Your door just got kicked in. Agents just took your computers. But from the FBI’s perspective, this investigation is 80-90% complete. They’ve already built most of the case. The raid was about getting the final 10-20% of evidence they need. And in 30-90 days, you’re likely facing indictment.

The Raid Just Happened – But The Investigation Didn’t

The worst thing you can do right now is treat the raid as the beginning. It isnt.

Before FBI agents knocked on your door – or kicked it in – the investigation had already been running for months. The average timeline in white-collar federal cases is 8-14 months of investigation before any search warrant gets executed. During those months, agents were pulling your bank records through grand jury subpoenas. They were interviewing witnesses in your professional and personal life. They were requesting your phone records and email metadata from your carriers and providers.

A federal magistrate dosent sign a search warrant because agents have a theory or a suspicion. They sign it because agents presented an affidavit documenting extensive investigation that proves probable cause exists. That warrant in the agents hands represented the condensed result of half a year of invisible work. By the time that paper reached your door, the case against you was largley built.

Heres what this timeline means for you. Everything that happened during those 6-12 invisible months is beyond your control. The bank records are already in there posession. The witness interviews already happened. The evidence is already compiled. You cannot undo what was done before you knew anything was happening.

But everything from this moment forward is within your control. What you do in the next 48 hours matters more then anything that came before. The investigation may be 80-90% complete, but the charges arnt filed yet. The case isnt closed. And the actions you take right now will determine whether you face the original investigation or original investigation plus additional crimes you commit in response to the raid.

At Spodek Law Group, we tell clients that understanding the timeline is the first step toward protecting yourself. The raid feels like an earthquake. It feels like the world just started shaking. But the earthquake started months ago – you just didnt feel it until now. Knowing this changes how you respond.

The Questions Aren’t Questions – They’re Traps

During the raid, agents asked you questions. “Whose computer is this?” “Where do you keep your financial records?” “Do you know John Smith?” Those questions felt like normal information gathering. There not.

Heres the irony that most people dont understand until its to late. The agents arnt asking questions because they need information. There asking questions because they already HAVE the information – and they want to see if youll contradict it.

When an agent asks “do you know John Smith?” they already have your emails with John Smith. They already know you know him. The question is designed to see if youll say no. Because if you say “I dont know that person” and they have evidence showing you do, youve just committed a new federal crime.

18 USC 1001 makes it a felony to make false statements to federal agents. The penalty is up to five years in federal prison. And heres what makes it devastating. You dont have to intend to lie. You dont have to knowingly deceive. A misremembering, a mistake, a panicked wrong answer – all of it counts. The law dosent require intent. It requires only that the statement was false and material to the investigation.

Think about the chaos of the raid. Agents everywhere. Your family terrified. Your home being searched. Questions coming at you from multiple directions. In that environment, misremembering something is almost inevitable. Saying “I dont think I was there” when you were. Saying “I never saw that document” when you did. Saying “That isnt mine” when forensics will show otherwise.

Every question during the raid is a potential trap. The agents arnt confused. There testing you. There creating opportunities for you to make statements that contradict evidence they already have. The questions arnt questions. There evidence-manufacturing operations.

What You Say During The Raid Is More Dangerous Than What They Take

Your natural focus during and after the raid is on what they took. Your computers. Your phones. Your files. Your safe. But heres the inversion that defense attorneys understand. The physical evidence they seized is often less dangerous than the statements you made while they were seizing it.

Most of the physical evidence they took – bank records, financial documents, communications – they already had copies of through subpoenas. The raid was partly about confirming what they obtained invisibly. The documents in your filing cabinet are duplicates of what your bank already provided. The emails on your computer exist on servers they already accessed.

But your statements during the raid? Those are NEW evidence. Evidence they couldnt get any other way. Evidence that exists only because you spoke in the chaos of the moment.

Heres the consequence cascade. You say something contradictory during the raid. That statement gets documented by agents in there reports. At trial, they testify about what you said. Your “I dont remember” becomes evidence of consciousness of guilt. Your “Thats not mine” becomes an 18 USC 1001 charge when forensics proves otherwise. Your attempt to be helpful becomes a felony conviction.

The physical evidence they seized has to be analyzed, authenticated, connected to specific conduct. Your statements are already evidence the moment you say them. No analysis required. No authentication needed. Two agents heard you say it, and there going to write it in there FD-302 reports.

The raid isnt about taking your stuff. Its about getting you to talk while taking your stuff.

If you spoke during the raid – and most people do, because the cooperation instinct is overwhelming – write down everything you remember saying. Every question asked. Every answer you gave. This contemporaneus record will be critical for your attorney in understanding your exposure.

The Property Receipt Reveals Their Entire Theory

After the raid, agents left a property receipt. A list of everything they took. Most people glance at it, feel overwhelmed, and throw it in a drawer. Thats a mistake.

Todd Spodek at Spodek Law Group tells clients the property receipt is your first piece of discovery. It reveals there entire theory of the case before any charges are filed. What they took tells you what they think you did.

Financial records seized? There investigating fraud. Bank statements, tax returns, accounting files – the theory is financial crimes. Wire fraud. Tax evasion. Money laundering. The documents they prioritized reveal the direction of there case.

Communications and devices? There investigating conspiracy. Phones, computers, tablets, messaging apps – they want to show coordination with others. Conspiracy charges require proving agreement between people. Seizing communications means they believe your conversations will prove that agreement.

Documents from a specific time period? They have informant testimony about that window. When agents focus there seizure on records from 2019-2021 specificaly, it means something happened during those years that there trying to prove. Probably something someone already told them about.

The property receipt is a roadmap. It shows you were the investigation is heading. It reveals who else might be involved. It tells you what evidence there building toward. Dont throw it in a drawer. Study it. Share it with your attorney. It contains more information about there case then anything else youll see before charges are filed.

30-90 Days – The Timeline From Raid To Indictment

Heres the uncomfortable truth about timing. Federal search warrants signal that indictment is coming soon. Typically 30 to 90 days after the raid.

Prosecutors dont execute search warrants at the beginning of investigations. They execute them when there almost ready to charge. The warrant is one of the final steps, not the first. By the time agents breach your door, the case is 80-90% built. The raid provides the final evidence they need to complete it.

30 days. 90 days. That window is your reality now.

During this window, prosecutors will analyze what they seized. Forensic examiners will extract data from your devices. Agents will compare what they found to what witnesses told them. The case file will be compiled. And then the grand jury will hear the evidence and vote on indictment.

This timeline means urgency. You cannot wait weeks to get an attorney. You cannot take your time deciding what to do. The 30-90 day clock started the moment agents left your house. Every day you wait is a day you dont have.

What happens during this window matters enormously. An experienced federal defense attorney can contact the prosecutors before charges are filed. They can present context the government might not have. They can negotiate for a pre-indictment resolution. They can sometimes convince prosecutors to decline charges altogether. This window is your opportunity – but only if you use it. Once the grand jury votes and the indictment is returned, your options narrow dramatically.

Consider these specific numbers. 6-12 months – thats how long the investigation ran before the raid. 80-90% – thats how complete the case was when they executed the warrant. 30-90 days – thats your window until charges. 5 years – thats the penalty for one false statement during the raid. 20 years – thats the penalty if you destroy evidence now. These numbers define your reality. There not estimates. There federal practice.

Your Instinct To Explain Will Destroy You

Your instinct right now is to explain. To clear this up. To cooperate and make them understand. That instinct will destroy you.

The cooperation impulse that serves you well in normal life becomes the weapon that destroys you in a federal investigation.

The agents arnt confused. They dont need your explanation. Theyve spent 6-12 months building this case. They know more about your conduct then you remember about your own conduct. They have records you forgot existed. They have witnesses who told them things you dont recall. Your “explanation” in the middle of chaos, without an attorney, without knowing what evidence they have, is how innocent people end up with false statement charges added to there problems.

Think about the dynamics. Agents have reviewed thousands of pages of documents. Youve reviewed none. Agents know what every witness said. You dont know who the witnesses are. Agents understand exactley what conduct there investigating. You might not even know what this is about. In this information asymmetry, every word you say is a potential mistake.

Your instinct to cooperate is precisely what the system counts on. People want to seem innocent. Innocent people cooperate, right? So you talk. You explain. You try to clear things up. And every sentence creates new evidence. Every explanation provides new opportunities for contradiction. Every attempt to help becomes ammunition against you.

The only way to stop the bleeding is to stop talking. To invoke your right to remain silent. To request an attorney before any further conversation. These arnt signs of guilt. There signs of intelligence. There the only responses that create zero new evidence against you.

Consider the famous cases where this instinct destroyed smart people. Martha Stewart wasnt convicted of the underlying securities violations they investigated. She was convicted of lying to federal agents about those violations. The investigation might have gone nowhere. Her statements gave them everything they needed. Michael Flynn – a three-star general, former national security advisor – pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents. Not espionage. Not conspiracy. False statements. Smart, experienced people destroyed by the instinct to explain.

How Your Reaction Can Create Charges That Didn’t Exist

Heres a paradox that changes how you should think about the next 48 hours. Not every FBI raid leads to prosecution. Some raids are intelligence-gathering that never result in charges. Prosecutors sometimes decide the case isnt strong enough. The economics dont justify trial costs. The evidence dosent support what they thought it did.

But heres the trap. You can turn a non-prosecution raid into a prosecution raid by what you do afterward.

Destroy evidence after agents leave? Now youve given them obstruction of justice. That carries up to 20 years. Delete files from devices they didnt seize? Obstruction. Shred documents that relate to the investigation? Obstruction. Even if the original investigation would have gone nowhere, obstruction is a standalone crime. Youve just created charges that didnt exist before.

Contact co-defendants to coordinate stories? Thats witness tampering. Call the people you think might be involved to warn them? Thats witness tampering. Send messages telling associates what to say or not say? Thats witness tampering. Each of those calls and messages becomes evidence of consciousness of guilt – and a new federal crime.

Make false statements when agents call back with follow-up questions? Thats 18 USC 1001. Five years. Try to transfer assets or hide money? Thats potentially money laundering or fraud. Create false documents to support your story? Thats fabrication of evidence.

The raid might not have been enough to charge you. The evidence might have been weak. The case might have been borderline. But your reaction can provide exactly what prosecutors need to proceed. Your panic becomes there proof. Your instinct to protect yourself becomes there case.

Spodek Law Group has seen this pattern repeatedly. Clients who survived the raid without major exposure then destroyed themselves in the aftermath. The post-raid period is more dangerous then the raid itself – because thats when people make decisions under panic that create new criminal liability.

The Next 48 Hours Determine Everything

So what should you do right now?

First: do NOT speak to anyone about the raid except an attorney. Not friends. Not family. Not business associates. Any conversation you have can be subpoenaed. Those people can be called as witnesses against you. The colleague you confide in becomes a government witness. The family member you explain things to becomes someone agents interview. Keep your phone in your pocket.

Second: do NOT destroy anything. No shredding documents. No deleting files. No “cleaning up” devices they didnt seize. Everything you destroy becomes potential obstruction. Even if the documents seem unrelated. Even if the files seem innocent. You dont know what there investigating completley. What seems irrelevant to you might be critical to them.

Third: DO write down everything you remember. What agents asked. What you answered. What they said. What you observed. Do this now, while its fresh. This contemporaneous record is invaluable to your attorney.

Fourth: DO study the property receipt. What did they take? What categories of items? What time periods do the documents cover? This reveals there theory.

Fifth: DO contact a federal criminal defense attorney immediately. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today. An attorney can contact the FBI and prosecutors on your behalf. They can find out the scope of the investigation. They can position you for the best possible outcome in the 30-90 days before potential indictment.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196 right now. The raid is over. The investigation that produced it is largely complete. But the story isnt finished. What you do in the next 48 hours determines whether you face the original charges alone or original charges plus everything you create through panic and poor decisions.

The FBI raid feels like the end of the world. It isnt. Its the end of there invisible investigation and the beginning of your visible response. That response – who you call, what you say, whether you panic or stay calm – shapes everything that follows.

You have 30-90 days. Use them wisely. Get an attorney who understands federal practice. Find out exactly where you stand. Build a defense strategy before charges are filed. The raid happened. What matters now is what you do next.

The next few days matter more then you realize right now. Every decision from this moment forward shapes what happens next. The chaos will pass. The fear will subside. But the actions you take in the next 48 hours – those consequences are permanent. Take a breath. Think clearly. Get help. Make that call now.