Dallas Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer

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Federal Crimes Defense Lawyer in Dallas, TX

John Helms is a Dallas criminal defense lawyer with more than thirty years of experience, and he has represented some of the country’s largest corporations in federal white-collar crimes cases, including Microsoft, Bank of America, ACE Cash Express, and Philip Morris.

John was an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) from May 2000 - March 2003, while being a federal prosecutor for the Northern District of Texas, John never lost a trial or an appeal. John Helms is uniquely experienced to provide an effective defense for federal criminal cases, because of his former prosecutorial position. These federal crimes include:

Financial Fraud & White Collar Crimes Defense

What is Financial Fraud under Federal Law?

Federal financial fraud crimes consist of mortgage fraud, racketeering/RICO, securities fraud, tax evasion, white-collar crimes, money laundering, SBA, EIDL, and PPP loans, bribery, corruption, market abuse, and insider trading.

Perpetrators may pose as a bank, government office, or official institution in order to steal your personal financial information, deprive you of your money or capital, or impact your financial health through deceptive, misleading, or other illegal practices. This can be done through a variety of methods such as identity theft or investment fraud.

Speak with John Helms for more information about your case: Mr. Helms is a leading TX white-collar defense lawyer.

Call 972-525-8822 to discuss your case.

Federal Health Care Fraud Criminal Defense

What do HealthCare Fraud Crimes Involve?

Health care fraud indictments by medical providers related to a material events where conditions in participation for the health care benefit program (Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance) are fraudulent or criminal, for example:

  • Double billing
  • Phantom billing
  • Unbundling
  • Upcoding
  • Falsifying a patient's diagnosis to justify tests
  • Surgeries or unnecessary procedures,
  • Misrepresenting procedures to obtain payment for non-covered services
  • Selling drugs, devices, foods, or cosmetics not proven effective.

Fraud committed by individuals consists of:

  • Bogus marketing
  • Identity theft
  • Impersonating a healthcare professi4onal

Fraud involving prescriptions may include:

  • Forgery
  • Diversion
  • Doctor shopping

Prosecutions must prove an individual or corporation committed healthcare fraud by devising a scheme or artifice to defraud a healthcare program, executing this scheme, acting knowingly and willfully with the intent to defraud, and the act employed false pretenses representations or promises.

Call Federal Health Care Fraud Defense Lawyer - John Helms

Call 972-525-8822 to discuss your case.

Federal IRS Tax Evasion and Fraud Crime Defense

What is Tax Fraud?

Tax fraud is when a taxpayer intentionally provides fraudulent information to cheat on a tax form in an attempt to avoid paying their tax obligations. The IRS defines tax fraud as “intentional wrongdoing on the part of a taxpayer with the specific purpose of evading a tax known or believed to be owing. Examples include claiming false deductions; claiming personal expenses as business expenses; using a false Social Security number; and not reporting income. Under IRC § 7201, any person who willfully attempts to evade or defeat taxes can be charged with a felony, with penalties including up to $100,000 in fines ($500,000 in the case of a corporation), up to five years in prison, and the costs of prosecution.

The IRS is also a major player in the field of cybercrime, working with local and federal governments to combat fraud. When it comes to tax fraud, you can expect that the prosecutor will attack aggressively. You'll need an attorney on your team who understands the case from all angles. As a former federal prosecutor, John Helms never lost a trial or appeal.

Federal Tax Evasion Case results by a Dallas Criminal Lawyer

DFW criminal defense attorney John Helms has a thirty plus -year track record of achieving favorable results for his clients through the time, effort, and creativity he puts into every case.

In a complicated tax evasion case in which the Federal Government claimed that a husband, his wife, and their lawyer were accepting the husband’s income in American Eagle gold coins issued by the U.S. Treasury Department in order to avoid paying taxes.

Mr. Helms represented the wife in the case, and constructed his client’s defense around the fact that she relied on her husband to declare his income correctly and pay the right amount of tax when she signed jointly, meaning that she did not meet the “knowing or willful” requirement to be guilty of tax fraud. By thoroughly and empathetically preparing her to testify in her own defense, Mr. Helms was able to achieve excellent results for his client: the judge concluded that there was not enough evidence of guilt for a jury to reasonably find that a crime had been committed, and therefore decided to acquit the accused of all charges without the jury having to decide if she was guilty or innocent.

Consult with Attorney John Helms a Federal Tax Fraud
Defense Lawyer with a fighter's mindset.

Call 972-525-8822 to discuss your case.

Federal Forfeiture Defense

What is ForFeiture in Federal Criminal Cases?

Federal criminal forfeiture is a federal law enabling law enforcement governmental agencies to seize assets, like cars, jewelry, and residential and commercial real estate, that were either used in conjunction with illegal activity or were bought with money gained from illegal activity, along with cash, bank accounts, cryptocurrency accounts. Forfeiture is not permitted in every federal criminal case. Forfeiture can be used only if the crime the defendant is charged with committing provides for it. Forfeiture is permitted in cases of drug trafficking, organized crime, child pornography, money laundering, and copyright infringement.

For a defense strategy an attorney must have a fighter’s mindset, contact your Dallas-based Forfeiture Defense Lawyer John Helms.

Call 972-525-8822 to discuss your case.

Federal Cybersecurity Criminal Defense

What is a Federal Computer Crime?

Computer crimes are also known as cybercrimes and require the use of a computer to carry out an illegal activity over the internet. Crimes encompassed under this umbrella include:

  • Email and internet fraud
  • Identity fraud
  • Theft of financial or credit card payment information
  • Theft and sale of proprietary corporate data
  • Cyber-extortion
  • Phishing scams
  • Ransomware attacks
  • Online intellectual property infringements
  • Online harassment and cyberstalking
  • International auction fraud
  • Romance scams using dating sites
  • Retail listing scams, botnet-related fraud
  • And trojan horse scams

Wire fraud is a federal crime that involves any scheme to defraud another person or party by means of a computer or electronic communication. This includes telemarketing fraud, internet scams, and phishing. The criteria for being indicted for a computer crime are very broad, making it very possible to be charged with multiple computer crimes even with only minimal use of a computer due to the pervasive nature that computers have in today's society.

You Need a Federal Computer Crimes Lawyer? Call John Helms!

Call 972-525-8822 to discuss your case.

Federal Child Pornography Defense

What do Federal Child Pornography Cases consist of?

Child pornography is a form of child sexual exploitation, also referred to as child sexual abuse. Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction or image of any explicit sexual conduct involving a minor less than 18 years old. Federal criminal statutes prohibit the production, distribution, importation, reception, or possession of images of children sexual in context. Any violation of federal child pornography laws is a serious crime, and offenders convicted can face fines and severe statutory penalties. For example, a first-time offender convicted of producing child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2251 faces a fine and a statutory minimum of 15 years to 30 years maximum in prison.

Call John Helms Dallas Child Pornoaphy Defense Lawyer to discuss your representation.

Call 972-525-8822 to discuss your case.

Federal Drug Trafficking Crimes

What does the Federal Prosecution count on when determining a Drug Trafficking Crime?

The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or drug distribution, are crimes of selling, transporting, or illegally importing unlawfully controlled substances, also the illegal act of cultivating, manufacturing, and distributing substances in which you do not have the proper licensing or lawful credentials. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many different types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The most commonly trafficked drugs are cocaine, heroin, meth, and marijuana. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, drug trafficking offenses are triggered when a defendant possesses more than a specific quantity of an illegal or prohibited substance. The amount of drugs a person has to be found with in order for the minimums to apply differs depending on the substance.

Federal Drug Trafficking Case Results

In a federal drug trafficking case, John Helms represented a client who was stopped along an interstate highway near Amarillo so that police could search his car. Officers found a case of red wine made in Mexico, and claimed that the liquid in one of the bottles tested positive for methamphetamine. They arrested the client on the accusation that he was transporting liquid methamphetamine from California to the east coast.

Call John Helms Dallas Best Criminal Defense Lawyer For A Federal Drug Defense NOW!

If you have been accused of a federal crime, don’t go at it alone, consult an attorney before negotiating with law enforcement on your own. John Helms understands the perspective of the prosecution, their strategies and the penalties associated with each individual federal drug crime, using his unique perspective as a former federal prosecutor will be advantages to your defense. John knows how to obtain the most favorable results in order to protect your rights and freedom and mitigate your exposure and get your life back on track.

Call 972-525-8822 to discuss your case.

I Can Help You Navigate The Complex
American Criminal Justice System

Call John Helms Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer NOW!

You Need to Know the FACTS!

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Don’t take a chance on an inexperienced
attorney. Your FREEDOM is at RISK

I will fight to get your life back as with countless clients before YOU.

Call: 972-525-8822

​​FAQ

If you have not been arrested or charged with a crime, but the police have told you that they would like to talk to you, what do you do? Do not say a thing; let them know you want to use your right to get a lawyer. And do it ASAP.​

Whenever you have any dealings with the police, you should be represented by a lawyer. If they are looking for you, if they want to talk to you, if they want to arrest you, or if someone has contacted law enforcement and accused you of a crime, you need a lawyer.

Even if you plan on pleading guilty, it is critical that you hire a criminal defense lawyer to protect your rights. Representing yourself is never a good idea. Even if you plead guilty, you can expect that prosecutors will try to take advantage of your inexperience by only agreeing to a plea deal that is less favorable than they would with a lawyer. Plus, an attorney may be able to spot problems with the government’s case that you would not recognize, like evidence that should be suppressed. Problems like that might result in dismissal of the charges altogether, but just being able to spot them can help negotiate a better deal with a prosecutor. An attorney, especially a former prosecutor like me, can help you protect your rights, evaluate your options, and negotiate with the prosecutors for the most favorable outcome.

Depending on your case, based on the advice of your attorney, it may be in your best interest to go to trial. When charges are filed against you, your lawyer will evaluate the case to determine if there is a legal basis to get the case dismissed. If there is not, and if either the government cannot prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, or if a satisfactory plea bargain cannot be worked out before trial, then your best option will, in all likelihood, be going to trial. If the case cannot be dismissed, it is ultimately your decision whether you want to take a plea bargain or go to trial. Your lawyer cannot make that decision for you or force you to decide one way or the other. Your lawyer will advise you on what is in your best interests, but no one can take away your right to decide.
Any offer or plea bargain should be evaluated carefully with the assistance of an experienced criminal defense lawyer to ensure that your rights have been protected and that you understand the consequences of the plea. A good criminal defense lawyer will evaluate and discuss with you your other options, including trying to have the case dismissed, your chances if you go to trial, and whether a better deal can be negotiated. This kind of analysis requires experience and knowledge of the law.
In state court cases in Texas, a magistrate judge sets bail shortly after you are arrested. They do this based on the crime and your criminal history. You can hire a bail bond company to help you post bail. They usually require you to give them 10% of the bond amount (which you get back at the end of the case if you comply with all conditions of bond), plus a fee that they keep. Depending on the amount of the bail and your financial condition, they may also require putting up property to make sure they can get their money back if you do not comply with your bail conditions. If you know you are going to be arrested, I strongly recommend contacting a bail bond company in advance. They can make sure that they are ready to post the bond for you as soon as it is set by a magistrate judge. This helps you get out as soon as possible. There are bail bond companies that I trust, and if you hire me, I will help you through that process. Federal court is very different. After your arrest, you have an initial appearance in front of a federal magistrate judge. The prosecutor will tell the magistrate judge whether the government is asking for you to be held in custody during trial. If the government is asking for that, you have the right to have a hearing in court in which the magistrate judge decides whether or not you will be held in custody before trial. That hearing is usually a few days after your initial appearance. Bail is not common in federal court. You will usually be held in custody or released, but if you are released, there may be conditions of your release like electronic monitoring or house arrest.
Absolutely. If you are a suspect or being investigated for potential criminal activity, it is always in your best interest to have a lawyer present. This is true regardless of where the questioning takes place. If the authorities want to question you while you are in custody, you should ask to have a lawyer present during any questioning and refuse to answer questions until your lawyer is with you.

In criminal cases, we usually charge a flat rate for everything but trial and a trial fee that is only owed if the case goes to trial. A flat fee means that, no matter how much work the lawyer has to do, you know up front what the fee is going to be. We base our fees on our estimate of the amount of time and work that will be required to defend the case. We are not a factory type of operation, so we generally do not have “grocery store” pricing, in which a given crime costs a set amount regardless of the facts. Each case is different, and we try to tailor our fees to your individual case. That means that we want to find out about your case and that we try to set our fees based on how much work we think your case will take and how complicated it will be.

If you are under investigation, but you have not been charged, we may offer to represent you during the investigation based on an hourly rate with a cost deposit that we bill against. This can benefit you because it can be difficult to predict how much work it will take to represent someone during an investigation, and an hourly rate means that you will only pay for the work done.

I Have Represented Some Of The Country’s
Largest Corporations Including: