Federal Target Letter: What It Means and How to Respond Before It’s Too Late

Federal Target Letter: What It Means and How to Respond Before It’s Too Late

The target letter didn’t arrive at the beginning of the investigation. It arrived at the end. Federal prosecutors spent 8 to 18 months building this case before you got that envelope. They’ve already interviewed your colleagues. They’ve subpoenaed your bank records. They’ve obtained your emails. They’ve presented evidence to a grand jury. The letter isn’t telling you they’re starting to investigate. It’s telling you they’re ready to indict. You’re not at the beginning of a process. You’re near the finish line – and you’re losing.

Here’s the number that changes everything: 99.99%. In 2010, federal prosecutors pursued 162,000 cases. Grand juries voted not to indict in exactly eleven of them. That’s not a typo. Eleven out of 162,000. Former New York Chief Judge Sol Wachtler famously said a grand jury could “indict a ham sandwich.” He wasn’t joking. He was describing statistical reality. By the time a target letter lands in your mailbox, the prosecutor has already decided to charge you. The grand jury is a formality.

So when you open that letter and read that you’re the “target” of a federal investigation, understand what it actually means. This isn’t an invitation to explain yourself. This isn’t a request for your side of the story. This is a notification that the United States Department of Justice believes you committed a federal crime and has “substantial evidence” to prove it. The question isn’t whether you’ll be indicted. The question is whether you can change their mind in the 30 to 45 days before they finish what they started months ago.

99.99%: What the Grand Jury Indictment Rate Actually Means

Lets talk about what happens inside a federal grand jury room. Its entirely one-sided. The prosecutor presents evidence. Theres no defense attorney present – your lawyer has to wait outside the door. Theres no cross-examination of witnesses. Theres no opportunity to object to inappropriate questions. The grand jury only hears what the government wants them to hear. And then they vote on whether “probable cause” exists – the same standard police need to arrest someone on the street.

The grand jury consists of 16 to 23 people. Only twelve need to agree to indict – not unanimous, not even a super-majority. There all hearing the prosecutors version of events with no counter-narrative. In that environment, the 99.99% indictment rate isnt surprising. Its inevitable. The grand jury isnt weighing evidence. Its rubber-stamping a decision the prosecutor already made. Your target letter is the announcement of a verdict thats already been reached.

Target vs. Subject vs. Witness – Where You Stand

Federal investigators put people into three categories. A “witness” is someone who might have information about a crime – your not suspected of anything. A “subject” is someone who may be involved but isnt the focus – there still gathering evidence to decide. A “target” is the worst designation. It means prosecutors beleive you commited a crime and have substantial evidence to prove it. Target means prosecution is coming unless something changes there mind.

Heres the dangerous part: the goverment dosent have to tell you when your status changes. You can be a “subject” today recieving requests for documents, feeling like your just helping an investigation. Tomorrow you can be a “target” based on evidence you dont even know exists. The progression happens invisibly. By the time you recieve the target letter, your status changed weeks or months ago. You just didnt know it.

Understanding the classification matters for strategy. If your a subject, you might have opportunities to cooperate and avoid ever becoming a target. If your already a target, cooperation looks different – its damage control, not prevention. The letter tells you were you stand. Read it carfully. The language reveals wheather there still deciding or wheather theyve already decided and are just giving you a chance to surrender quietly.

You Have 30 to 45 Days. The Clock Is Running.

The timeline from target letter to grand jury presentation is typically 30 to 45 days. In the Southern District of New York – the most agressive federal prosecutors in the country – its two to four weeks. Thats how long you have to mount a defense, negotiate a plea, convince prosecutors to reconsider, or prepare for whats coming. The clock started the moment you opened that envelope. Every day you wait is a day you cant get back.

Different districts move at different speeds. Middle District of Florida takes twelve to sixteen weeks. Some districts are slower. But heres what stays constant: the prosecutor has already scheduled your grand jury presentation. There not waiting for you to figure things out. There moving forward with or without your involvement. The only variable is wheather you engage in time to effect the outcome or wheather you watch it happen from the sidelines.

Remember: the target letter didnt arrive at the start of the investigation. Prosecutors spent 8 to 18 months building there case before sending it. Theyve done the work. Theyve gathered the evidence. Theyve made there decision. The 30 to 45 day window isnt the investigation timeline – its the indictment timeline. Your not racing against the investigation. Your racing against the grand jury presentation thats already on the calender.

The “Reverse Proffer” Trap Most People Never See Coming

Many defense lawyers recommend a proffer session after recieving a target letter. In a regular proffer, you provide information to prosecutors in exchange for limited immunity. But federal prosecutors have perfected a technique called the “reverse proffer” that even experianced attorneys miss. In a reverse proffer, THEY reveal evidence first – not you. There not trying to learn anything. There showing you how strong there case is to pressure a plea.

The reverse proffer looks like an opportunity to defend yourself. It feels like prosecutors want to hear your side. In reality, its designed to demoralize you. They lay out there evidence piece by piece. They show you the witnesses who will testify against you. They explain exactly how there going to prove each element of the crime. By the time there done, most defendants are ready to plead guilty just to make it stop. Thats the point.

Your attorney needs to recognize when a proffer session is genuinely exploratory and when its a reverse proffer designed to break you. The difference determines wheather the meeting helps your case or destroys your will to fight. Going into a reverse proffer unprepared – expecting a fair exchange of information – is walking into a trap that prosecutors have perfected over decades.

Why “Wait and See” Is Described as a Fatal Strategy

The advice many lawyers give after a target letter is to sit back and see what happens. In federal practice, this approach has been described as “fatal.” When the federal government tells you they intend to charge you with federal crimes, they will do so – unless something happens to change there mind. Waiting changes nothing. The investigation isnt going to quietly disappear. The prosecutor isnt going to lose interest and move on.

The 99.99% indictment rate proves this. Grand juries indict when prosecutors ask them to indict. Prosecutors only bring cases they beleive they can win. If you recieved a target letter, the prosecutor beleives this is a winnable case. Sitting it out means watching the indictment come down, getting arrested, and starting your defense from behind. The window to effect the outcome is before the grand jury votes – not after.

Evidence Destruction: How 20 Years Gets Added to Your Sentence

The moment you recieve a target letter, your first instinct might be to destroy evidence. Delete emails. Shred documents. Wipe hard drives. This instinct is natural – and catastrophic. 18 USC Section 1519 makes evidence destruction in a federal investigation a seperate federal crime carrying up to 20 years in prison. The cover-up becomes worse then the crime you were originally accused of.

Federal prosecutors love obstruction cases. There easier to prove then the underlying crime. The original charge might be complicated – maybe you have defenses, maybe the evidence is weak. But if you destroyed evidence, thats a straightforward case. They can prove what existed, prove you knew an investigation was happening, and prove you took steps to hide evidence. Now your facing two indictments instead of one.

The target letter explicitly warns about evidence destruction for this reason. Prosecutors know the instinct exists. There counting on people to make this mistake. Every document you destroy is an additional charge. Every file you delete is more prison time. The original investigation might result in probation or a short sentence. Obstruction charges can add decades. Preserve everything.

Pre-Indictment Is Your Best – Maybe Only – Leverage Point

Prosecutors negotiate more freely before an indictment then after. Before the grand jury votes, the prosecutor hasnt fully committed. Charges can be reduced. Diversion agreements are possible. Non-prosecution agreements exist in some cases. The prosecutor has flexibility because no public announcement has been made. After indictment, that flexibility disappears. The charges are on record. The media might be covering it. Walking it back looks like weakness.

This is why the target letter window matters so much. The 30 to 45 days before indictment represent your best opportunity to negotiate. Your attorney can reach out to prosecutors, present mitigating evidence, challenge there theory of the case, and explore plea options that might not exist after indictment. Early plea discussions regularly yield better outcomes then post-indictment negotiations. The target letter is a warning – but its also an invitation to negotiate.

What the Target Letter Actually Says – And What It Doesn’t

The target letter follows a standard format prescribed by the DOJ Justice Manual. It identifies you as a “target” of a federal grand jury investigation. It names the crimes your suspected of committing – usually by statute number. It informs you of your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and your right to obtain counsel. And it warns you explicitly about evidence destruction. What it dosent tell you is arguably more important: the specific evidence they have, the witnesses who’ve cooperated, or how strong they think there case actually is.

The letter will often invite you to testify before the grand jury or meet with prosecutors. This looks like an oppurtunity. Be careful. Grand jury testimony is given without your attorney in the room – they wait outside and you can consult with them, but there not beside you when you answer questions. Any inconsistency between your testimony and evidence prosecutors already have becomes a new crime: lying to a federal grand jury. The invitation to testify is sometimes an invitation to incriminate yourself further.

Read the letter carefully with your attorney. The specific statutes mentioned reveal the theory of prosecution. The language about your status – whether definitively “target” or hedging with “may be” – indicates how far along they are. Some target letters reveal strategic information about the investigation’s scope. Others are intentionally vague to preserve prosecutorial flexibility. Your attorney can read between the lines and understand what the government is really communicating.

Most People Never Get a Warning – You Did

Heres something most people dont understand: the government is not required to send target letters. Most people who get indicted never recieved one. They find out there a target when federal marshals show up with an arrest warrant. The target letter is a courtesy – a heads-up that the Justice Department dosent have to provide. If you recieved one, you have something most federal defendants never get: advance warning and time to prepare.

Why do prosecutors send them? Sometimes its required by local district practice. Sometimes there hoping you’ll cooperate against bigger fish. Sometimes they want to see how you react – will you flee, destroy evidence, or contact co-conspirators? Your response to the target letter is itself evidence. Prosecutors watch what you do after receiving it. This is why having an attorney immediately is crucial – every move you make is being observed and assessed.

The target letter is simultaniously a threat and an opportunity. The threat is obvious: indictment is coming. The opportunity is less obvious but more valuable: you have a window to influence the outcome that most federal defendants never get. The 30 to 45 days between target letter and grand jury presentation represent the only time prosecutors might be open to alternatives. Use it. Waste it, and you’ve squandered the one advantage you had.

The Professional and Collateral Consequences

Federal investigations destroy careers before any verdict is reached. If your employer learns about the target letter, you might be suspended or fired – even though your still legally innocent. Professional licenses can be suspended pending investigation. Security clearances get revoked immedietly. Bank accounts may be frozen. Business partnerships dissolve. The target letter itself – seperate from any criminal consequences – can demolish everything youve built.

Your attorney should help you navigate these collateral consequences. Do you need to disclose the investigation to your employer? When should you notify professional licensing boards? How do you protect business relationships and family assets? These questions require careful strategic thinking. The wrong move – or no move at all – can multiply the damage beyond the criminal case itself. Some people lose more to collateral consequences then to the eventual sentence.

Asset forfeiture is another hidden danger. Before any conviction, the government may move to seize property allegedly connected to criminal activity. Your attorney needs to understand forfeiture law and protect legitimate assets. The target letter window is when these protective measures must begin – not after indictment when seizure motions are already filed. Every aspect of your life becomes vulnerable when that envelope arrives.

What to Actually Do When the Target Letter Arrives

First, hire a federal criminal defense attorney immediatly – not tomorrow, not next week, now. The clock is already running. Your attorney needs time to contact prosecutors, understand the investigation, and develop strategy. Every day you wait is leverage you lose. Find someone with specific experience in federal criminal defense, not a general practitioner who occasionally handles federal cases.

Second, preserve everything. Dont delete emails. Dont shred documents. Dont wipe phones or computers. Dont move money around. Any action that looks like concealment becomes evidence of obstruction. Tell your attorney exactly what exists and where it is. Let them advise you on proper document preservation. The instinct to hide things is strong – resist it completly.

Third, say nothing to investigators without your attorney present. The target letter might include a request to interview you or testify before the grand jury. Do not respond directly to federal agents. Do not call the prosecutor’s office to “explain” your side. Every word you say without counsel becomes evidence. Your attorney will handle all communications with the government.

Fourth, prepare for the worst while working toward the best. The 99.99% indictment rate is real. Assume indictment is coming and prepare accordingly – notify employers if necessary, arrange finances, prepare family. Simultaneously, your attorney should be exploring every option to avoid or minimize charges. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. The target letter is the warning. What happens next depends entirely on what you do in the next 30 to 45 days.