If you have found yourself being questioned about, or indicted for, mortgage fraud, you are being challenged with one of the most important decisions of your life regarding who you should hire. How do you know the individual you are considering is, in fact, the right attorney for your situation?
It is very important that you execute your due diligence and thoroughly vet all your potential candidates as your future literally depends on their abilities.
Below are several questions you should seek answers to as you go through the process:
- Mortgage fraud case experience? How many cases has the candidate represented a defendant with respect to mortgage fraud?
- There are a number of types of mortgage fraud? Are any of the candidates previous cases involve a fraud charge similar to the one you are facing?
- What has been the success record of past cases? Too often individuals evaluate every defendant, the bigger picture should also be evaluated. If convicted, what was the final sentence as opposed to the possibilities attached to the original charges?
- What is the cost? One may be surprised that this is listed in the position as opposed to the most pressing condition. Unfortunately, the better the skills and experience of the candidate, the higher the cost. One should list all the candidates, once evaluated, in order of preference and then determine what they can afford. Legal representation in this country is very expensive and be prepared to exhaust all possible reserves, family stakes are very high and your future is at risk.
- Consider hiring a “mortgage fraud expert witness” to assist your attorney in your ongoing defense. An expert witness has probably been around more mortgage fraud trials than all your candidates combined and can be invaluable in your defense. Again, this is your future and you should give yourself every possible chance of success.
One other item needs to be part of this discussion. Once indicted, a great deal of pressure is put on the defendant to enter into a plea deal with the prosecution using fear as the motivating factor. If other defendants are involved, this plea deal is then used as a stepping stone to get other defendants to enter into the same kind of a deal. Why is this done?
If the prosecution can handle the case in this fashion, they have to prove nothing and do not have to deal with the cost, effort and time of a trial. A plea deal may or may not be in your best interests, but listen very carefully to the advice of both your attorney and your expert witness.