What Are Federal Charges?
A federal crime is an offense that specifically violates U.S. federal laws or when an individual carries the criminal activity over multiple states such as commercial fraud, wire fraud, and drug trafficking. Federal offenses are prosecuted by government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). There is a common misconception that federal crimes are primarily white-collar. A crime that is committed and crosses state lines will be a federal offense.