Case Results & Verdicts
MONEY LAUNDERING
A client was charged with a conspiracy to commit money laundering with the alleged period of conduct spanning seven years. Her guideline sentence of imprisonment was an offense level 16, which is a range of imprisonment of 21 to 27 months. After months of negotiation, Ms. Castaneda negotiated a sentence of probation with no jail time.
Read Money Laundering Case Results
RULE 35 – EARLY RELEASE IN DRUG TRAFFICKING CASE
When represented by a different attorney, a client was convicted of the conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine with the intent to import it into the United States. He was sentenced to over a decade in prison. He aided the United States government in investigating others. Ms. Castaneda was the fourth attorney to be hired to represent him in his efforts to receive time off of his sentence for his cooperation (known as “Rule 35 credit”). Within 60 days of being hired, the defendant received a sentence of time served with an extra three months off of his jail sentence, above what the federal prosecutor had requested, at Ms. Castaneda’s urging.
Read Rule 35 – Early Release in Drug Trafficking Case Results
COMPASSIONATE RELEASE UNDER THE CARES ACT
A client was diagnosed with prostate cancer that went undiagnosed and untreated for several years while serving his thirty-year federal jail sentence. Utilizing the First Step Act and the Cares Act, Ms. Castaneda successfully argued for the release of the client over three years early.
Read Compassionate Release Under the Cares Act Case Results
RETURN OF IMPROPERLY SEIZED FUNDS
A client had $162,679.00 improperly seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) during a traffic stop. Within 48-hours of filing a Rule 41 petition in the Eastern District of New York, the DEA agreed to the return in entirety of the client’s seized funds.
Read Return of Improperly Seized Funds Case Results
RETURN OF IMPROPERLY SEIZED FUNDS
A client was traveling with over $10,000.00 in currency from Tampa, Florida to Havana, Cuba (José Martí International Airport). €1,000.00 in euros and $34,290.00 was taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) during an outbound inspection from Tampa International Airport. Ms. Castaneda contested the seizure and negotiated the return of $29,290.00 and €1,000.00 in euros as well as the avoidance of federal charges.
Read Return of Improperly Seized Funds Case Results
MONEY LAUNDERING
A client was investigated as a member of a large money laundering scheme in Tampa, Florida. When contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), he was given the opportunity to cooperate before being federally charged. He assisted in the investigation of others involved and at sentencing he received over six years off of his sentence. He was sentenced to a year and a day, which allowed for him to be eligible for federal good credit, thereby further reducing his federal term of imprisonment.
Read Money Laundering Case Results
FRAUD LOSS
A client was charged with conspiracy to make false statements to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and to defraud, impair and obstruct the USDA. While he pleaded guilty via a negotiated plea agreement, we disputed the fraud loss amount that the United States government alleged had occurred. Over the course of several contested hearings in front of the federal judge, Ms. Castaneda, two defendants co-counsel, and a retired IRS special agent working as an investigator successfully argued to reduce the alleged loss amount from approximately $2,250,000.00 to approximately $650,000.00. Despite the testimony of two federal agents and the United States government’s financial experts, the client was successful in arguing for a reduction of the loss amount.