Many federal criminal cases include a conspiracy charge. A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime. The crime itself does not have to happen for the conspiracy to be illegal.

Federal prosecutors like conspiracy because they can prove it with the word of witnesses alone, including with hearsay. Sometimes the prosecutors use telephone records, receipts, and things like that to help. They also can put many smaller players into a conspiracy charge. Those people face the same penalty as the big players.

Most importantly, prosecutors do not always need things to show the jury as evidence when they charge conspiracy. For example, in a drug conspiracy, the prosecutors do not need any drugs to show. The word of witnesses alone, even witnesses who were involved in the crime themselves, is enough.

Conspiracy charges are very hard to defend, but not always impossible. You always should take a conspiracy charge very seriously. Your lawyer will, with good reason.

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