A federal case rarely announces itself. It usually shows up as a letter, a grand jury subpoena, or agents at the door of a home or a business along the coast — and by then the government has often been working the file for months.

That head start is the hard part. The prosecution builds quietly while you have no idea it’s happening, and every day you wait to get advice, its lead grows. Once the government gets there first, you’re reacting to its plan instead of shaping your own.

Keith & Lorfing defends people and businesses accused of federal crimes in Galveston and throughout the Southern District of Texas. Our team is led by a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and includes a retired federal judge of counsel, so we understand how the other side thinks before it moves.

If you need federal defense in the Houston Division, speak with our Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer in Houston before making a statement or taking your next step.

The federal cases we defend in Galveston

Federal charges in this area are heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, at the U.S. Courthouse, 601 Rosenberg St. The division covers Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, and Matagorda counties — the stretch of coast that runs from the Port of Galveston through the petrochemical corridor.

That geography shapes the docket. Cargo and cruise traffic through the port, refineries and plants up and down the coast, and the money that moves around all of it give this division a distinct mix of drug, fraud, regulatory, and financial cases.

We defend the full range. Each charge type has its own rules and its own defenses — start with the summary below, then follow the link for a deeper look at your situation.

• Federal drug charges: Distribution, manufacturing, and conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846, plus import/export under §§ 952 and 960 — the statutes that reach drugs moving through a port of entry. Quantity drives mandatory minimums, so the numbers matter from day one. 
• Wire fraud: Schemes carried out by email, phone, or electronic transfer under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, common in coastal business, contracting, and investment cases. 
• Bank fraud: Loan, deposit, and lending-related schemes under 18 U.S.C. § 1344. 
• Money laundering: Moving or spending allegedly criminal proceeds under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957, and structuring cash under 31 U.S.C. § 5324. 
• Federal conspiracy: Agreement-based charges under 18 U.S.C. § 371, drug conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. § 846, and fraud conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 1349 — often the way the government sweeps several people into one case. 
• Healthcare fraud: Billing and kickback cases under 18 U.S.C. § 1347, the Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b), and the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729). 
• SEC and securities fraud: Securities violations under 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b) and Rule 10b-5, often with parallel SEC and DOJ proceedings. 
• Federal gun and weapons charges: Felon-in-possession under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime under § 924(c). 
• Federal immigration crimes: Illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, harboring or transporting under § 1324, and document fraud under § 1546. 

We also defend the conduct that tends to travel with these charges, including false statements to federal agents under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and obstruction under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1512 and 1519.

What a federal charge in the Galveston Division puts at risk

Federal cases are not larger versions of state cases. They carry mandatory minimum sentences, an advisory set of Sentencing Guidelines, and no parole — federal time is served almost in full.

Mandatory minimums surprise people the most. In drug and gun cases especially, a single fact — a quantity, a prior conviction, a firearm — can set a floor the judge cannot go below without a legal reason.

The Guidelines then build a recommended range on top of that floor. That range comes from the specific facts of your case, which is exactly why the fight over those facts is the case.

For fraud and money-laundering charges, the driver is different but just as important. The alleged loss amount, or the amount said to be laundered, largely sets your exposure — and those numbers are often inflated when the government first calculates them.

The damage rarely ends at prison. Depending on the facts of your case, you may also face:

• Asset forfeiture: The government can move to seize money, vessels, vehicles, homes, and accounts it claims are tied to the alleged offense — sometimes before trial.
• Immigration consequences: A conviction, or even certain pleas, can trigger removal for non-citizens. Under Padilla v. Kentucky, your lawyer must advise you on these effects before you plead.
• Professional and licensing loss: Doctors, financial professionals, and people who hold maritime, transportation, or port credentials can lose the licenses their living depends on.

None of these outcomes is automatic, and none is a foregone conclusion. How early and how well a case is defended can change every one of them.

If you’re weighing what’s at stake, talk to a federal defense lawyer about the specific exposure in your case.

How Port of Galveston and coastal cases actually get built

Cases tied to a port often start with something physical — a container, a manifest, a shipment flagged in transit — but they rarely stay there. Investigators work outward from the seizure to phones, bank records, and the people around it, and the drug or import charge quickly grows a conspiracy count.

The petrochemical corridor produces a quieter kind of case. When our managing partner served as a federal prosecutor, many fraud cases started with a whistleblower and a spreadsheet; today the government leads with data, running analytics and AI-assisted review across billing, environmental, and financial records to flag outliers on its own.

You no longer need an angry employee to trigger a review — billing or transacting differently from your peers can be enough to make you the outlier the model catches. A business can be under investigation for months before anyone feels it, and by the time it seems real, the government may already hold years of records.

Enforcement has also shifted toward individuals. DOJ increasingly pursues the executives and decision-makers behind an organization, not just the company. Acting early, before the government finds an issue on its own, is about leverage, not a deadline — once it gets there first, you’re reacting to its theory instead of shaping your own.

In the corridor’s fraud and white-collar cases, one number does most of the work: the alleged loss amount, which under the Sentencing Guidelines is the engine of the sentence and steps up at set dollar thresholds. The government usually builds that figure from a spreadsheet of assumptions and pushes it high early, so the defense tests every cell — credits the client actually earned, dollars counted twice, and “intended loss” that was never realistic. You don’t just plead; you litigate the math, because dropping below a single threshold can pull the whole range down. See our federal wire fraud defense and Houston wire fraud defense pages for how that fight works.

Some companies along the coast no longer wait for a subpoena. They bring in experienced counsel early to find vulnerabilities and tighten billing and financial controls before a small issue becomes a bank fraud or wire fraud case.

Two early mistakes cost people the most, and as a former prosecutor our managing partner saw both again and again:

• Deleting or “cleaning up” records. Erasing emails, texts, or documents doesn’t make a problem go away — it creates a new one. Obstruction is often easier to prove than the underlying conduct, because the government can show what existed, what was removed, and when. Preserved evidence, produced strategically through counsel, can instead become an advantage.
• Putting your head in the sand. Waiting it out lets the government build its case at its own pace while your options shrink.

If you fear you’re under review, a few steps matter most right away — hire experienced federal counsel now, preserve everything, and let your lawyer control all contact with agents rather than trusting an informal assurance.

How we defend federal cases in Galveston

The strongest federal defense often starts before charges are filed. When we get involved during the investigation, we can sometimes shape the outcome while the government is still deciding — or keep a case from being charged at all.

Our work is built around a few concrete strategies:

• Investigation-stage intervention: If you’ve received a target letter or grand jury subpoena, we step in to manage contact with agents and prosecutors so you don’t hand the government its case. We can present your side while decisions are still open.
• Suppression and challenging the evidence: We examine every search, seizure, port inspection, wiretap, and interview for constitutional violations. Evidence obtained illegally can be kept out.
• Attacking the government’s math: In fraud and drug cases, the alleged loss amount or drug quantity often decides the sentence. We challenge how those numbers are built, because they are frequently overstated.
• Negotiation from strength: We negotiate from a prepared, trial-ready position — not from fear. Prosecutors treat a defense that is ready to go to trial differently.
• Trial: When the government won’t offer a fair resolution, we try cases. Our founding partner Trey Keith has spent 20-plus years defending the accused and earning “Not Guilty” verdicts.
• Sentencing mitigation: If a case reaches sentencing, the work is far from over. You litigate the math — arguing Guidelines calculations, safety valve eligibility under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f), acceptance of responsibility, and every fact that lowers exposure.

Ready to build a defense? Reach out to our team for a confidential review of your options.

Why choose Keith & Lorfing for your federal case

Federal defense rewards experience on both sides of the courtroom. Our team has it.

• A former federal prosecutor leads the firm. Managing partner Russell Lorfing is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who ran a federal human trafficking task force on Saipan. In 2024 he was selected Co-Chair of the Federal Criminal Defense Committee for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and named a Super Lawyers honoree, recognized for his white-collar and electronic-evidence work.
• A retired federal judge sits of counsel. The Hon. E. Scott Frost (Ret.) brings more than 30 years of federal courtroom experience to our strategy.
• A veteran trial lawyer at the founding chair. Trey Keith has defended the accused for over 20 years, with many “Not Guilty” verdicts.
• A deep bench. Our team includes former federal prosecutors and defenders, former FBI agents, former IRS criminal investigators, and former general counsel to large family offices — people who know how federal cases are put together.
• Admitted where your case lives. Russell Lorfing is admitted in the Southern District of Texas, along with the Northern and Western Districts, the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

We represent clients in federal courts across the country, and federal law applies the same way in every district. What matters is not where a firm sits but how it defends federal cases.

One honest note: past results never guarantee a future outcome. Every case turns on its own facts, and we’ll tell you straight what yours looks like.

What to expect in the federal process

Federal cases move quietly but constantly. They don’t look fast from the outside, but underneath they’re moving the whole time — by the time it feels real, it’s usually much further along than you think.

Here’s the general path a Galveston Division federal case follows:

• Investigation: Agencies like the FBI, DEA, ATF, HSI, IRS, or EPA gather evidence, often for months. Target letters and grand jury subpoenas surface here.
• Charging: The government brings charges by indictment or information filed in the Southern District of Texas.
• Initial appearance and detention: You appear before a magistrate judge, and the court decides on release or detention.
• Pretrial: Both sides exchange discovery, and the defense files motions to suppress evidence or dismiss counts.
• Resolution: The case ends in a negotiated plea or a trial before a district judge at the 601 Rosenberg St courthouse.
• Sentencing: After a conviction, the court sets a sentence guided by the advisory Guidelines and the arguments both sides make under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

Knowing the path is one thing; having someone who has walked it from the prosecution side is another. You can contact our firm at any stage — the earlier, the better.

Talk to a Galveston federal defense team before the government decides for you

A federal investigation is frightening, but you are not out of options — and you don’t have to face it alone. The sooner a former prosecutor is reviewing your situation, the more room there is to change where it goes.

Keith & Lorfing defends federal cases in Galveston and throughout the Southern District of Texas. We also represent clients in other divisions across the region, from our Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer in Houston to coastal matters handled by our Corpus Christi federal criminal defense team and Victoria federal criminal defense team.  We’ll listen, tell you honestly what you’re facing, and start building a defense.

Schedule a confidential consultation with our federal defense team.

Frequently asked questions

Where will my federal case be heard if I’m charged in the Galveston area?
Most federal cases from Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, and Matagorda counties are handled in the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, at the U.S. Courthouse, 601 Rosenberg St.

Do I need a lawyer if I’ve only received a target letter or grand jury subpoena?
Yes — that’s often the most important moment to have one. A target letter means the government believes you may be charged, and early representation can shape or even prevent that decision.

What’s the difference between a state charge in Galveston County and a federal charge?
Federal cases are prosecuted by U.S. Attorneys in federal court and carry mandatory minimums and Sentencing Guidelines, with no parole. State cases go through Galveston County courts under Texas law. The rules, penalties, and strategy are different.

Should I talk to federal agents who show up at the port, my home, or my business?
You have the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present. Making a false statement to a federal agent is itself a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, so it’s usually best to stay polite, decline to answer, and call a lawyer first.

Are cases tied to the Port of Galveston treated differently?
The charges come from the same federal statutes, but port cases often start with a shipment or container and grow outward into conspiracy, import/export, and money-laundering counts. That makes early challenges to the search and the government’s quantity math especially important.

What are mandatory minimums, and can they be avoided?
A mandatory minimum is a floor the judge generally cannot go below. In some drug cases, the safety valve under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) or cooperation may allow a sentence beneath that floor, depending on the facts of your case.

Can a federal charge affect my immigration status or professional license?
It can. Certain convictions and pleas carry immigration consequences under Padilla v. Kentucky, and a conviction may put professional, maritime, or transportation licenses at risk. We factor these effects into strategy from the start.

Does hiring a lawyer early really change anything?
It can. Early involvement lets us manage contact with investigators, preserve evidence, and sometimes influence charging decisions before they’re locked in.

How long does a federal case take?
It varies widely. Some resolve in months; complex fraud or conspiracy cases can take a year or more from investigation to resolution.