Defense for online fraud, computer crimes, and digital evidence cases.
Internet and computer crime prosecutions rely on technical evidence that requires technical defense. IP address tracing, device forensics, cloud storage records, encrypted communications, and metadata analysis are routine in these cases. Defending them requires knowing both the law and the technology well enough to find the gaps in the state's proof.
Texas Penal Code Chapter 33 covers computer crimes including breach of computer security, online solicitation, online harassment, and online impersonation. Each has its own elements and penalty ranges, ranging from misdemeanors to first-degree felonies depending on the conduct and the victim.
Federal law adds the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Wire Fraud statute, federal child exploitation statutes, and various intellectual property crimes. Many internet offenses can be charged at either the state or federal level depending on which agency investigates.
Online fraud takes many forms: phishing schemes, romance scams, business email compromise, fake invoice schemes, cryptocurrency fraud, e-commerce fraud, and others. Texas prosecutes the underlying conduct as fraud, theft, money laundering, or computer breach depending on the specifics.
Defense in these cases often centers on identification. The state has to prove the person at the keyboard was actually the defendant. Shared devices, account takeovers, malware infections, and VPN routing all complicate that proof. Skilled forensic analysis frequently reveals problems the police investigation missed.
Breach of computer security under Texas Penal Code Section 33.02 is accessing a computer, computer network, or computer system without effective consent. The offense is graded based on the value of the access, ranging from misdemeanor to first-degree felony.
Federal computer crime under the CFAA criminalizes similar conduct with its own gradation system. Recent federal court decisions, including the Supreme Court's Van Buren decision, have limited the scope of CFAA prosecutions for certain types of authorized-but-misused access.
Cell phone extractions, computer hard drive imaging, cloud account preservation, and network log analysis all produce evidence that prosecutors use in internet crime cases. Each of those types of evidence has its own chain of custody, its own analysis protocols, and its own potential weaknesses.
Defense forensic experts can examine the same evidence to identify problems with the state's interpretation, alternative explanations for what the data shows, and gaps in the analysis the state's expert performed. In cases that turn on digital evidence, defense forensics is often the most important work in the case.
Online solicitation of a minor under Texas Penal Code Section 33.021 is one of the most aggressively prosecuted internet crimes in the state. The offense covers communications with a minor or with a person the defendant believes is a minor, when the communications are intended to arouse or gratify or to solicit a meeting.
Many of these prosecutions arise from law enforcement sting operations where officers pose as minors online. Defense in those cases involves entrapment analysis, examination of the full chat logs in context, and challenges to the state's interpretation of ambiguous communications.
Talk to an attorney who handles these cases regularly. Consultation requests are reviewed personally and treated with full confidentiality.
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