Criminal Defense Attorney Mark Coburn Defends Internet Crime & Cyber Crime Charges

Internet crime can range from identity theft, to wire fraud, to child pornography, to enticing a child, to other serious charges. Your case can be heard in both Nevada state court and at the federal district court in Las Vegas. The nature of cyber crimes is extremely serious due to the fact that almost anything done over the internet meets jurisdiction for federal law enforcement.

Defending internet crimes is a complex process because, often times, much of the evidence is transcribed in chat rooms, emails, and other electronic mediums. However, hiring an experienced Criminal Attorney who uses aggressive tactics such as challenging whether the laws themselves are legal under the U.S. Constitution, can lead to your charges being significantly reduced or dismissed completely.

Las Vegas Internet Crime Defense Attorney, Mark Coburn

Attorney Mark Coburn is an experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer with over 17 years of practice successfully behind him. Mr. Coburn aggressively protects his clients’ rights and their freedom, fighting for the best possible case results. If you are facing stressful charges against you for an internet/cyber crime, it is important you seek legal counsel to help guide you through the complicated process and ensure you are treated fairly. Call the Law Offices of Mark Coburn today for a free consultation to discuss your options. (702) 382-2000
Internet-Based Sex Charges

The majority of charges involving online sex crimes involve children.

It is illegal under both Nevada law (Nevada Revised Statutes §§ 200.700-200.760) and federal law (18 U.S.C.  §§ 2251-2252A, 2256, 2260) to knowingly possess, receive, send or produce materials that feature minors engaged in sexual acts. To violate most child pornography laws, the actors in the materials must be younger than 18.

Anything that moves across cyberspace likely enters interstate and/or foreign commerce, so the federal government has jurisdiction over the majority of cases that involve child pornography being sent or received via email or downloaded from a site. Even if an individual sends sexual images of children to another person in Las Vegas, he can still face federal charges.

Child pornography charges, on both federal and state levels, usually result in mandatory minimum sentences. The mere knowing possession of child pornography on your hard drive will result in a one year sentence in prison for state charges. The federal penalty for sending child pornography is a minimum of five years.

If an adult speaks online to a child, or someone posing as a child, in chat rooms or elsewhere on the internet—or if an adult makes arrangements to meet the child for sex and attempts to carry those plans through, he or she could be charged with a crime both in state court (Nevada Revised Statutes § 201.560(4)(a)), with a one-year minimum sentence, and in federal court (18 U.S.C. § 2423(b)), with a 30-year maximum sentence.

It does not matter if the person you are speaking to is an undercover agent or adult posing as a child. You can still be convicted.

Any of the above crimes can also lead to you being required to register as a sex offender for life.
Identity Fraud Online

Identity theft involves taking someone’s identifying information, including name, social security number, credit card number, bank account number, date of birth or any other information unique to that person and using it to procure anything of value or pose as that person. Charges for internet-based identity theft involve accusations of “phishing,” or using emails that appear similar to a merchant’s emails to collect data.

Identity theft is both a state and federal charge, and, like child pornography, virtually any act of identity theft committed online leads to federal jurisdiction. Penalties for a conviction of a state charge (Nevada Revised Statutes § 205.463) will lead to a minimum one-year term in prison, with a max of 20 years, and a fine up to $100,000.

Federal charges (18 U.S.C. § 1028) lead to prison time for up to 15 years. The maximum sentence is 20 years, however, if committed in connection with drug trafficking or a violent crime or is a second offense, and 30 years if committed in connection to an act of terrorism.

Identity theft can be a charge on top of any other criminal accusation an individual faces. For instance, if you are accused of using identity theft to obtain a credit card, you can be charged with both identity theft and credit card fraud.

Call Us Today at (702) 382-2000