Notable Cases

Ebanks Law Firm Exposes Corruption and Wins an Outright Dismissal for a Client Facing 25 Years

When Police Officers obtain a search warrant, they are bound by the words of that paper. When they exceed the scope of the warrant and find contraband, that case gets dismissed because they exceeded the bounds of the search warrant. When an officer then says to the Grand Jury that they did not, that they actually found it within the bounds of the search warrant, it's an even more egregious violation of a person's rights. I had such a case, one of the largest drug suppression cases in New York State history. My client was a homeowner who rented out the upper floors of his multifamily home. Police came to search his floor and the floor above it. They were not granted permission by the search warrant to go into the third floor of the home, but they did anyway. We were able to show that the 17 kilo bust was from that third floor, through an impermissible search which exceeded the scope of the warrant, and that the officer clearly lied to the Grand Jury when he claimed it was on the second floor. Not only was our client's case dismissed, the officer faced his own charges and ultimately pled guilty to perjury.

As I told the press, "Law enforcement officers must not yield to the temptation to break the law in order to enforce it. The more that you add to the truth the less you have. Just go out and do your job."

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong hoodie?

One of our most notable cases is certainly the case of the 16 year old in Queens who was arrested for a home invasion robbery, where he was facing up to 25 years. The entire arrest hinged on a victim identifying him by the back of his head with his hood pulled up. Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause for wrongful convictions. A witness's confidence that someone is the perpetrator of a terrible crime is often difficult to overcome. Two cameras in this case offered an unbiased account: a security camera on a house across the street from the scene of the crime and the Ring doorbell video camera on the defendant's grandmother's house--where he was moments before being stopped and arrested. Through diligent review and investigative work, we were able to show that the youth was not one of those involved in the violent crime, and that he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - and apparently wearing the wrong hoodie - and all charges were dismissed.

Undoing a 15-to-Life Sentence

Sometimes Justice requires nuance, especially when one life has been lost and another is on the line. New York has several criminal statutes that cover the unfortunate event where a person causes the death of another. The most serious, of course, is intentional murder. However, it is also contemplated by the law that one can cause a death without intent. Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide recognize that a life has been lost but do not require that the death was intended. In one such case, the prosecution pressed for Murder in the 2nd degree with a sentence of at least 15 years and up to Life in prison. The defendant felt pressured by the Court and his attorney to take the "offer" of that very sentence, but his family wanted a second set of eyes of the case and brought in the Ebanks Law Firm. We successfully moved the court to withdraw the plea of guilty and allow us to proceed with the case. We could have gone to trial, but we convinced the DA's office that they were looking at this case wrong. If he was trying to kill the other person, the manner of doing so was by attempting suicide. It doesn't work that way. The outcome was not desired, it was unintentional and the result of recklessness rather than intent. They came back with a new offer: 14 years, flat. Counting the time he spend in Riker's Island, he'd be out in time to see his young daughter graduate high school.

The Proverbial No-Hoper

The defendant was facing serious charges of attempted murder along with various gun charges. Before the Ebanks Law Firm entered the case, the defendant had retained and sought assistance from six other law firms. The prior attorneys all recommended and advised the defendant to take a plea deal of 10 years because the case was "hopeless." The defendant refused to give up and retained the Ebanks Law Firm to defend him. Midway through the trial, following an extensive investigation and endless hours of preparation, the alleged victim was exposed as a liar and had to be appointed a lawyer to defend him and advise him on potential perjury charges. The entire case was riding on that witness's tongue. The case was subsequently dismissed and sealed. Instead of prison, the client now takes their kids to the park every afternoon and attends church every Sunday.

New York's Youthful Offender Adjudication

There was a young man, 17 at the time of the offenses in 2020, who like so many others in similar circumstances in this city found himself involved in a local gang that was embroiled in street warfare. With charges of conspiracy to commit attempted murder hanging over his head, unwavering advocacy was necessary to create even a sliver of hope for his future. One of the services we were able to connect him with were clinical advocates to begin his rehabilitation while he was held in pretrial detention. Our combined efforts helped convince the Judge that he should serve a minimal sentence That young man completed a minimal prison sentence, after factoring the time spent in pretrial detention, and thanks to the New York State Legislature he will not carry that criminal record forward into his adult life. The law recognizes that young people are still developing physiologically and cognitively at that age, and external influences have an outsized effect on their actions, so young offenders can qualify for "Youthful Offender Adjudication" under Article 720 of the Criminal Procedure Law. Once they have served their sentence, that record is automatically sealed and they can face the future anew.

The Ebanks Law Firm Successfully Represents Defendant in 81 Million Dollar Cyber Heist Civil Case and Wins a Dismissal of All Charges

The Ebanks Law Firm was tasked with assembling an expert team to defend a bank in a civil matter involving North Korean hackers and the national bank of a Southeast Asian country. We recruited top attorneys from Milbank LLP and Sidley Austin LLP, and together we won dismissal of the complaint against the corporate entity at the center of the lawsuit.

Non-Custodial Sentence

The firm's client was charged with a felony. The offer on the felony was unnecessarily high and required mandatory jail time based on the fact that the District Attorney's office determined that the defendant was a predicate felon. A predicate felon is someone who has been convicted of a felony within the last ten years, and time spent incarcerated does not count towards the 10 years.

The defendant was also subjected to additional immigration penalties. Upon his release from prison the defendant spent time in an immigration detention center. The District Attorney's office argued that the time spent in the immigration detention center should be viewed in exactly the same manner as time spent in prison. The Firm argued that time spent in the immigration detention center should not toll time for purposes of determining predicate felon status. The court determined that the defendant was not a predicate felon. Upon overcoming that hurdle the defendant was then able to accept responsibility for his offense without having to serve a prison term.

1 Year Sentence for Murder Charge

The firm's client was one of four defendants charged with a cold case murder. The defendant was the alleged gunman. Prior to entering the case the offer presented to the defendant was 15 years to life in prison.

After examining the facts and dissecting the case, the firm was able to identify several holes in the police department's investigation. This resulted in the District Attorney's office reevaluating the case. Once the initial theory was refuted, the defendant was then offered a plea which guaranteed his release from prison in 1 year thereby allowing him to avoid the exposure to a potential life sentence.

Year in Review: 2025

Once again, The Ebanks Law Firm closed around two dozen cases this year, one third of which were outright dismissals.

Some highlights of 2025 include:

The successful conditional plea for a young man who was facing 20 years for various charges; we worked with various Social Workers and Clinicians for a year before we got to the plea, and for another year thereafter, and he was finally able to move forward with a nonviolent record and a non-custodial sentence, or put another way, no jail time.
We successfully recovered a quarter of a million dollars of currency wrongly seized by the DEA.
a six month sentence when the offer started at no offer (3.5 to 15 years), down to 2 years, then down to 6 months and 5 years probation. The client decided to take the offer instead of rolling the dice, but it never would have gotten to that point without the reputation and zeal of Alberto Ebanks.

Year in Review: 2024

The Ebanks Law Firm closed 23 more cases this year, before State and Federal courts. Some highlights of 2024 include:

Ten dismissals, including one by the judge in Veteran's Treatment Court after our client successfully completed the terms of his conditional guilty plea, over the objection of the DA's office.
Four more of our clients completed conditional pleas successfully, ending their cases with no jail time or criminal records.
The mandatory minimum in a federal case where our client faced life in prison.
One jury trial, where the jury had to ask for clarification 7 times before delivering a mixed verdict.

Year in Review: 2023

The Ebanks Law Firm closed another two dozen cases this year, before various New York courts. Some highlights of 2023 include:

Three custodial sentences of less than 1 year
Three sentences of Probation/Supervised Release
Six of our clients completed conditional release, interim supervision, or alternative-to-incarceration programs successfully, ending their cases with either reduced charges and no jail time or full dismissal. When there is clear evidence of wrongdoing in a case, these dispositions are invaluable for defendants who can show that their current brush with the law will be their last.

Year in Review: 2022

The Ebanks Law Firm closed about two dozen cases this year. Two of those were in Federal Court, and the rest were before various New York courts. Some highlights of this year include:

Six cases ended in convictions of lesser included or lower charges, saving clients from longer prison sentences
Five of the cases that ended in criminal convictions resulted in either time served or probation/supervised release
Several other mitigation successes, in particular that of a 57 year old man with a lifetime of addiction problems who found himself caught up in drug distribution. We made the case that he was dealing primarily to sate his own drug habit, and that he would benefit immensely from the drug treatment programs offered by the Bureau of Prisons. While a custodial sentence was unavoidable, the Judge sentenced him to 18 months -- half of what was recommended -- and I fully anticipate that he will remain clean once his time is served.