Hire a Federal Harassment Lawyer for Threatening or Harassing Communications, Hoaxes, Stalking, and Domestic Violence

When we talk about federal crimes that carry hefty prison sentences, we aren’t always referring explicitly to direct violence done against another. Under certain circumstances, the U.S. Code punishes even the threat of violence with fines and prison time.

Individuals charged with federal counts of making threatening or harassing communications or hoaxes, stalking someone, or directly engaging in domestic violence can be fined and sent to prison for decades.

It is so often the case that how defendants fare in court comes down to the knowledge and skill of their lawyers. When you hire a federal criminal defense lawyer from the Zoukis Consulting Group, you get expert court defense that could reduce your sentence and appeal your conviction.

Or, if you have been found guilty of any of the above-listed crimes, we can advise you on all aspects of surviving federal prison life so you successfully make it through your sentence and come out stronger than ever.

Getting a good lawyer for harassment charges or any other federal charges could be the best decision you ever make.

Contact us now to let us start helping you through this period.

Let us now learn more about the federal crimes of making threatening communications or hoaxes, stalking, or committing domestic violence.

Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens

Many crimes that one can commit in the United States fall under state laws. That means suspects will be tried in state courts and possibly sent to state prisons if convicted.

However, virtually any crime can become a federal offense if it is committed on federal property or across state or U.S. borders. The specific crimes of threatening and harassing someone through a communications device and deceiving others through hoaxes and false liens also become federal crimes when they involve:

• Using the U.S. Postal Service to commit the crime
• Making false statements about U.S. armed forces members during a war

But what exactly are these crimes? What do they involve? And what kind of punishments could you face if found guilty?

Threatening or Harassing Communications

Let’s start with making threatening or harassing communications. 

People commit the federal crime of threatening or harassing someone when they transmit an interstate or foreign communication that vows to injure someone or that distresses or irritates someone without any legal or otherwise legitimate purpose.

Within the U.S. Code, making threatening or harassing communications is a federal crime when it occurs across state lines, on the internet, or through the use of the U.S. Postal Service.

Defendants can be sentenced to pay a fine and serve up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of this crime.

It is also a federal crime for someone to use a telecommunication device to transmit lewd or obscene material to a minor. The Communications Decency Act of 1996 added to the law by criminalizing communicating indecent things to a minor over a telecommunication device.

If you’ve been charged with a federal case of harassment, a federal harassment lawyer from the Zoukis Consulting Group can defend you in court. The right lawyer can work to get you a shorter sentence and advise you on what life in federal prison will be like.

Hoaxes and False Liens

It can also be a federal crime to engage in fraudulent activities such as by filing false liens or propagating hoaxes against others. Let’s dive into these two offenses.

A lien is a public notice placed on a piece of property that claims the owner owes money to someone else. Filing a false lien, then, means that someone has knowingly attempted to defraud a property owner of money.

The federal penalties for filing false liens increase if someone is found guilty of filing more than two false liens against a property.

Similar to filing a false lien is engaging in a hoax. The U.S. Code defines this as communicating false but believable information to create situations involving firearms or explosives or that result in money being defrauded or people getting hurt or killed.

Base charges of engaging in a hoax carry federal penalties of a fine and up to five years in prison. If a victim gets seriously hurt due to the hoax, the defendant can face up to 20 years in prison. If a victim is killed, the defendant faces a life sentence.

Stalking and Domestic Violence

We next move into a pair of crimes that involve more personal distress and physical harm done to victims: stalking and domestic violence.

Stalking

Most people probably have some vague idea of what stalking is. The common image might be of someone following someone else around all the time, perhaps with the intent to learn about the victims and harm them in the future.

The U.S. Code gets specific about what counts as stalking.

It defines the crime as any activity that causes someone else to fear reasonably for his or her life or those of the victim’s family members; any activity that causes or attempts to cause emotional anguish; or any action that harasses or frightens someone, or places the person under surveillance with the ultimate purpose of frightening, injuring, or killing the person.

For these stalking activities to qualify as federal offenses rather than state crimes, the defendant must have committed the stalking across state lines, done the crime on federal lands, or engaged in interstate commerce in committing the crime, such as by using the U.S. Postal Service, a phone, or the internet.

The punishment for federal stalking charges can be a fine of $250,000 and a prison sentence of up to five years. If the stalking caused someone’s death, the sentence can be a life term.

Meanwhile, stalking that violates restraining orders or other official orders carries a sentence of at least one year.

A stalking lawyer from the Zoukis Consulting Group can be by your side in court to defend you against the charges and attempt to get you the best possible sentence.

Domestic Violence

The final crime we are covering is domestic violence. Like all the crimes mentioned here, domestic violence can be prosecuted as a state or federal crime.

Domestic violence becomes federal when the perpetrator attempts to hurt, kill, or harass a spouse or other domestic partner, or succeeds in doing so, across U.S. state lines or on federal lands.

As any domestic violence lawyer will tell you, the U.S. Code contains different grades of punishments for domestic violence depending on what resulted from the activity.

For instance, if you’ve been convicted of domestic violence that resulted in death, the sentence can be any number of years or life in prison. If permanent or life-threatening injuries resulted, the prison term can be up to 20 years. For serious injuries, the sentence is no more than 10 years.

Other, less serious federal domestic violence convictions carry sentences of five years.

Talk to a domestic violence attorney about what kind of sentence your offense carries and what can be done in court.

Hire a Harassment Lawyer from the Zoukis Consulting Group

Whether you’ve been charged with harassment, stalking, domestic violence, making hoaxes, or issuing threatening communications, a harassment lawyer from the Zoukis Consulting Group can be there to defend you.

The right lawyer can be the difference between a harsh or more lenient sentence. It’s all about how your lawyer can present the evidence and defend you against the charges.

If you have been convicted already and fear your entry into federal prison, we can help you there, too. Our prison consultants have years of experience guiding federal prisoners through what to expect and how to thrive.

Contact the Zoukis Consulting Group today to let us know how we can help you.

Published Feb 15, 2022 by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA | Last Updated by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA on Feb 15, 2022 at 12:26 pm