A federal search warrant is usually executed early in the morning, without warning. Agents arrive in numbers to secure the building and start boxing records and imaging computers. For a business owner, the first hour shapes what happens next.
A raid is different from FBI agents knocking at your home to ask questions. At home, you can keep the door closed and decline to talk (see our guide to FBI home visits). When agents arrive at your business with a signed warrant, you cannot stop the search. What you can control is how you and your employees respond, and what you protect.
Key takeaways
- Do not obstruct the search, but do not consent to anything beyond the warrant.
- Ask for a copy of the warrant and call a federal defense attorney immediately.
- Employees do not have to give on-the-spot interviews, and the company cannot order them to refuse.
- Flag attorney-client privileged material and get a written receipt for everything taken.
- A raid usually means a grand jury investigation is already underway.
Why Federal Agents Raid a Business Instead of Sending a Subpoena
Prosecutors can get business records two ways: a grand jury subpoena or a search warrant. A subpoena asks the company to gather and hand over documents. A warrant lets agents take them directly.
Prosecutors choose a warrant when they believe records might be altered or deleted if the company had notice. To get one, agents must convince a federal magistrate judge there is probable cause that evidence of a crime is at that location. That means the government has already done significant work before anyone knocks.
The agents at the door are not always FBI. Business searches in white-collar cases often involve:
- FBI, in fraud, bribery, and corruption cases
- HHS-OIG, in healthcare fraud investigations
- IRS Criminal Investigation, in tax fraud and money laundering cases
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service, in mail fraud cases
- DCIS and other agency inspectors general, in government contract fraud
Multi-agency teams are common. Who shows up tells your lawyer a lot about what prosecutors are looking at.
How to Read the Search Warrant
Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41, agents must give you a copy of the warrant. Ask for it right away and send a photo of every page to your attorney. Federal warrants usually have two attachments that define the search:
- Attachment A describes the place to be searched: the address, specific suites or floors, and sometimes vehicles or devices.
- Attachment B lists the items to be seized: categories of records, date ranges, and electronic devices and data.
The Fourth Amendment requires a warrant to describe these things with particularity, and agents must stay within those limits. If agents search a room or take items outside Attachments A and B, do not physically stop them. Note it, and let your attorney raise it later. Our overview of search and seizure law explains these protections.
You will usually not receive the agent’s affidavit. It explains the government’s evidence and is typically filed under seal. The warrant still tells you a lot: the statutes listed and the date ranges in Attachment B often reveal what crime is being investigated and how far back it goes.
What Owners and Managers Should Do in the First Hour
Stay calm and stay polite. Agents are trained to treat resistance as obstruction, and anything you say can end up in their report.
- Call a federal criminal defense attorney. Call Lowther | Walker at (404) 806-7997. Ask whether the lead agent will wait a short time for counsel to arrive or speak by phone. Many will allow a call.
- Get the warrant and the agents’ names. Ask for the lead agent’s name, agency, and business card, and the name of the Assistant U.S. Attorney on the case.
- Do not obstruct, and do not consent. Let agents carry out the warrant. Do not agree to searches of areas, devices, or vehicles the warrant does not cover. A clear, calm “I do not consent” is enough.
- Assign one point person. Pick one manager to stay with agents, answer logistical questions (where the server is, which office is whose), and nothing more.
- Send non-essential staff home if agents allow it. Fewer people on site means fewer unplanned interviews.
- Keep a log. Have your point person note which areas were searched, which devices were imaged, and roughly what was taken.
- Do not delete, move, or shred anything. Destroying records after a federal investigation begins can be charged separately as obstruction of justice, even if the underlying case falls apart.
- Ask for the inventory receipt before agents leave. Rule 41 requires agents to leave a receipt for property taken. Make sure it is signed and dated.
What Employees Can and Cannot Be Asked During a Raid
While some agents search, others often try to interview employees on the spot. These conversations happen fast, without lawyers, and while people are rattled. They are some of the most valuable evidence agents collect that day.
Employees should know:
- Talking is voluntary. A search warrant authorizes a search. It does not require anyone to answer questions. An employee can politely decline or ask to schedule an interview with a lawyer present.
- Anything said can be used. Statements made to agents are written up in reports (FBI Form 302s). A false or misleading answer, even a nervous one, can become a separate charge under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 for lying to federal agents.
- Employees may be handed subpoenas. Agents sometimes serve grand jury subpoenas on staff during a raid. A subpoena is not an obligation to talk on the spot; it sets a later date with time to get counsel.
- Personal phones are a separate question. Unless the warrant covers them, employees do not have to hand over or unlock personal devices.
What the company can and cannot do matters just as much. The company may tell employees about their rights, that interviews are voluntary, and that it can arrange counsel for them. It must not instruct anyone to refuse to cooperate or suggest what to say. That can be charged as witness tampering or obstruction. Employees asked to hand over a phone should also read should I give police my phone.
Employees should also understand that the company’s lawyers represent the company, not them. If their interests diverge, they may need their own attorney.
Seized Computers, Records and Attorney-Client Privilege
In most white-collar searches, the electronic evidence matters more than the paper. Agents may copy (image) servers and laptops on site or take devices to review later. Rule 41 allows that two-step process, so the review of your data can go on for months after the raid.
Three things to address quickly:
- Privileged material. Emails with your lawyers, legal files, and compliance reviews are likely mixed into what was taken. Tell agents which offices, folders,s or email accounts contain privileged material. Your attorney should then press for a filter team (a separate group of agents and prosecutors who screen out privileged documents before the case team sees them).
- Copies to keep operating. A business still has payroll, patients, or customers. Your attorney can ask prosecutors for copies of seized data, or arrange the return of items that are not evidence. Healthcare providers may also face a Medicare payment suspension.
- Getting property back. If the government holds property it does not need, or took items outside the warrant, a motion under Rule 41(g) asks the court to order their return. Bank accounts and other assets can also be frozen or seized; see our guide to federal asset forfeiture.
Compare the inventory receipt against your own log as soon as possible. Gaps between the two are worth raising early.
What a Raid Signals and What Comes Next
A search warrant is rarely the start of an investigation. By the time agents arrive, prosecutors have usually reviewed bank records, interviewed witnesses or cooperators, and opened a grand jury investigation. A raid means the case is serious, but it does not mean charges are certain.
In the weeks and months that follow, you may see:
- Grand jury subpoenas to the company, employees, banks, or vendors.
- A federal target letter telling an owner or executive they are a target of the investigation.
- Further interview requests from agents, sometimes at employees’ homes.
- An indictment, sometimes after a long silence. Our guide to indicted vs. charged explains the difference.
This gap is the best window for a defense. An experienced federal defense attorney can find out whether you are viewed as a witness, subject or target, run a privileged internal review, and open a dialogue with prosecutors before charging decisions are made. See also what to do first if you are involved in a federal investigation.
Common Mistakes After a Business Raid
- Explaining things to agents. Owners often try to clear up a “misunderstanding” on the spot. It rarely helps and often creates evidence.
- Talking about the investigation by email or text. Those messages can be subpoenaed later.
- Contacting witnesses or coworkers about their stories. Even well-meant conversations can look like tampering.
- Cleaning up records. Deleting files or “organizing” documents after a raid invites obstruction charges.
- Waiting for charges before hiring a lawyer. By then, the chance to shape prosecutors’ view of the case has often passed.
Speak With a Federal Defense Attorney Today
If federal agents have searched your business, or you think a search is coming, the federal criminal defense attorneys at Lowther | Walker can help. We represent business owners, executives, healthcare providers, and employees in white-collar crime and healthcare fraud investigations nationwide.
Call (404) 806-7997 or request a free consultation.
FAQ: FBI Raids and Business Search Warrants
Can the FBI search my business without warning?
Yes. A judge signs the warrant in advance, and the business gets no notice. That is why prosecutors choose a warrant over a subpoena when they worry records could disappear.
What can agents take during a raid?
Only what Attachment B of the warrant describes, from the places Attachment A lists. In practice, that often includes paper files, computers, phones, and server data within set date ranges.
How long does a federal search of a business take?
Most searches take several hours, and large offices can take a full day. Reviewing seized electronic data can take months afterward.
Does a raid mean I will be charged?
Not necessarily. A raid shows prosecutors believe evidence of a crime exists at the location, but many investigations end without charges against the owner or some employees. What you do in the weeks after often affects the outcome.
Can I keep running my business after a raid?
Usually, yes. Your attorney can ask for copies of seized records and the return of items that are not evidence. Frozen accounts may need a separate court motion.
What if agents come to my home instead?
If they come to ask questions without a warrant, different rules apply. Our guide on what to do when FBI agents show up at your home provides greater depth.