Federal Bribery Charges in Virginia Beach 

Federal bribery is similar to state bribery. Federal bribery is when a person offers something of value to a public official or an elected official with the intent to influence that official into some sort of fraud.

Federal bribery charges in Virginia Beach can be punished by up to 15 years in prison and can include a fine of up to three times the monetary equivalent of whatever was exchanged as the bribe. An illegal gratuity conviction carries a possibility of up to two years in prison.

Contact an experienced attorney to see how you can potentially get these charges mitigated or reduced.

Who Can Be Charged with Federal Bribery?

A federal elected official could be charged with bribery. Someone who works in a branch of government that handles federal programs would be considered a federal official and could also face federal bribery charges in Virginia Beach.

Who Qualifies as a Public Official?

If a person is an elected official, they are a public official. If a person is appointed to a commission, they are considered a public official.

A person can be charged with bribery in a federal court if they are a federal official, there are federal funds involved through different states, and if some sort of interstate communication is used via federal mail or wired telephones.

Circumstances of Federal Bribery in Virginia Beach

If, for example, a person offered inducements to a member of the House of Congress to vote on a certain manner or take a certain action, that could be a bribery charge. This is a common scenario of an alleged federal bribery. If they attempted to influence someone who works in one of the cabinet agencies and they were using the promise of gifts or money to influence that person’s position, or if they were communicating with somebody who lives in another state and they were offering those bribes across state lines, it would also be considered federal bribery.

Allegations of giving or receiving money can also occur with a non-monetary gift assuming that is a unique event, they are using a federal official, crossing state lines, or federal money is involved.

Gifts as Bribery

Gifts could be considered a bribery when a person offers official money or items of value to convince a public official to enact an action beneficial to them. While a person may not have given the gift to them directly or given these items to the elected official to get a certain result, the perception is that this elected official was offered gifts to help another person.

Aggravating Factor in a Federal Bribery Charge

The amount of the gift is an aggravating factor, the number of gifts is an aggravating factor, how long the bribery has been occurring is an aggravating factor, what parties are involved, and what federal agencies were involved can be aggravating factors in a federal bribery charge in Virginia Beach.

Circumstances of Illegal Gratuity

An example of illegal gratuity would include giving an elected official gifts and they the person giving does not necessarily say what the gift is. For example, if a person is involved in the coal industry and there is a vote coming up on involving the regulation of coal, and the person gifts expensive items to congressmen without telling them what it is in order to sway them, and a that can be considered an illegal gratuity.

Hiring an Attorney

Federal bribery charges in Virginia Beach can come with hefty sentences and fines. Protect your freedoms by contacting a qualified official who can guide you through the legal processes through a case.