Federal investigators and Congress are busy looking for people to blame. There is much pent up anger that will be poured out onto anyone who is perceived to be at fault for any aspect of the current financial crisis.
But who is advising the targets of these investigations? Unless and until these people have legal counsel, they will only be able to depend on their own judgment.
The first instinct of someone who may be the target of a federal investigation is self-preservation. However, the things that one does in response may lead to more trouble later.
Many people who come under scrutiny are never charged with crimes for which they are investigated but rather with failing to tell the truth and obstructing justice. The most famous example of this is Martha Stewart, who was convicted of lying to investigators, rather than securities fraud, in a case about a well-timed stock sale.
So, before you destroy documents, erase computer records, burn receipts, or arrange for an alibi, consider that investigators may ultimately want a bigger prize than you. If you are truthful, if you are perceived as cooperative, you may only be used as a source of information in the quest for a defendant with a higher profile.
Given the size of the financial crisis, given the number of players involved, federal investigatory resources are going to be stretched thin. If you act impulsively, if you act according to your self-preservation instinct, you may end up buying time in prison for something other than your role as a banker.
You may end up, as Martha did, allowing them to make an easy case against you for obstruction or perjury.
Geoffrey Mousseau can be found on the web at FederalPrisonInc.com.
