Reading the signals you have received
Contact can come from the FBI, the Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, or an agency inspector general, often working with a U.S. Attorney's office. A grand jury subpoena demands documents or testimony, a target letter suggests prosecutors view you as a likely defendant, and an unannounced visit from agents is usually an attempt to get statements before you have a lawyer. Prosecutors tend to describe people as witnesses, subjects, or targets, and those labels can change as evidence develops. Knowing which one applies to you shapes almost every decision afterward.
Talking, preserving, and responding
You can decline to be interviewed and ask that agents contact your lawyer. Anyone who chooses to talk should know that knowingly lying to a federal agent is a separate crime, even when the underlying conduct is never charged. Preserve documents and devices; deleting files or encouraging others to do so after you learn of an investigation can lead to obstruction charges. If a subpoena arrives, do not respond to it on your own, and do not contact coworkers or business partners to compare recollections. Keep the subpoena, any envelope it came in, and agents' business cards.
What the first weeks with counsel involve
We begin by contacting the prosecutor, where appropriate, to learn the scope of the inquiry and your status. That conversation can clarify whether you are viewed as a witness, whether documents can be produced in an organized way, and whether there is room for a proffer, cooperation, or a presentation explaining why charges should not be brought. We also identify any parallel civil or regulatory matters, such as an SEC inquiry or an administrative audit, because statements and productions in one can affect the others.
