Over the years, Congress has enacted more than 3,000 federal criminal statutes. The FBI, as the national government's only general purpose investigative agency, can use most of these laws in its daily enforcement activities. While in any year the FBI will cite many hundreds of these laws as the central charge, the overwhelming majority of the bureau cases are brought under only a few dozen of them.

A person who is charged with criminal offenses as a result of an FBI investigation rarely is accused of violating only a single law. A drug dealer, for example, might be charged under separate laws concerning the illegal distribution of drugs, money laundering and racketeering. Similarly, a crooked city employee might be charged with fraud against the government, mail fraud and criminal tax violations.

Another peculiarity regarding the FBI and the law is that many federal statutes mirror local ones. This means, for example, that FBI cases involving such subjects as bank robbery, gangs, kidnapping and drug dealing could also be brought by local authorities. One result of this situation is that every time the FBI involves itself in a matter that could be handled by city or state police, it has less time for matters that are better addressed at the federal level such as national security and the criminal violations of large corporations.

During the Justice Department's data collection process, assistant United States attorneys across the country are asked to select the "lead charge" against each of the defendants they prosecute. Obviously, the judgement about which law will be cited as the lead charge is somewhat subjective when multiple serious violations are involved. In addition, such judgements sometimes may be influenced by the political needs of the moment: an administration, for example, that wants to show the public it is deeply concerned about the hot subject of the year such as organized crime or threats to the nation's security.

Here then, as viewed through the lens of federal prosecutors across the country, are the statutes most frequently cited as being the "lead charge" in the referrals coming from the FBI. The laws are presented in the order of their statute numbers. The complete text of these frequently cited statutes can be viewed by selecting the particular law of interest in the following table.

	U.S. Code		Description
	08 USC 01324		Bringing in and harboring certain aliens
	08 USC 01326		Reentry of deported alien
	15 USC 00078		Securities Violations
	18 USC 00004		Misprision of Felony
	18 USC 00111		Assaulting, resisting, impeding certain officers
	18 USC 00113		Assaults within maritime and territorial jurisdictions
	18 USC 00115		Influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a Federal official
	18 USC 00152		Concealment of assets; false oaths and claims; etc
	18 USC 00157		Bankruptcy Fraud
	18 USC 00201		Bribery of public officials and witnesses
	18 USC 00241		Conspiracy against rights
	18 USC 00242		Deprivation of rights under color of law
	18 USC 00287		False, fictitious or fraudulent claims
	18 USC 00371		Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US
	18 USC 00513		Securities of the States and private entities
	18 USC 00641		Public money, property or records
	18 USC 00656		Theft/embezzlement/misapplication by bank off, emp
	18 USC 00657		Lending, credit and insurance institutions
	18 USC 00659		Interstate or foreign shipments by carriers
	18 USC 00666		Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds
	18 USC 00751		Escape - Prisoners in custody
	18 USC 00844		Explosives - Importation and storage of explosives
	18 USC 00846		Explosives - Additional powers of the Secretary
	18 USC 00875		Interstate Communications
	18 USC 00876		Mailing threatening communications
	18 USC 00894		Collection of extensions of credit by extortionate
	18 USC 00912		False personification - Officer or employee of US
	18 USC 00922		Firearms; Unlawful acts
	18 USC 00924		Firearms; Penalties
	18 USC 01001		Fraud/false statements or entries generally
	18 USC 01010		Fraud - HUD and FHA transactions
	18 USC 01014		Fraud - Loan and credit applications etc
	18 USC 01028		Fraud and related activity - id documents
	18 USC 01029		Fraud and related activity - access devices
	18 USC 01030		Fraud and related activity - computers
	18 USC 01073		Flight to Avoid Prosecution or Giving Testimony
	18 USC 01111		Murder
	18 USC 01112		Manslaughter
	18 USC 01153		Offenses committed within Indian country
	18 USC 01201		Kidnaping
	18 USC 01203		Kidnapping - Hostage taking
	18 USC 01341		Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles
	18 USC 01343		Fraud by wire, radio, or television
	18 USC 01344		Bank Fraud
	18 USC 01347		Health Care Fraud
	18 USC 01349		Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy
	18 USC 01503		Influencing or injuring officer or juror generally
	18 USC 01512		Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant
	18 USC 01546		Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents
	18 USC 01623		False declarations before grand jury or court
	18 USC 01791		Providing or possessing contraband in prison
	18 USC 01951		Hobbs Act
	18 USC 01952		Racketeering -interstate/foreign travel/transport
	18 USC 01955		Prohibition of illegal gambling businesses
	18 USC 01956		Laundering of monetary instruments
	18 USC 01957		Monetary transactions w/property from unlawful act
	18 USC 01959		Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity
	18 USC 01961		RICO - definitions
	18 USC 01962		RICO - prohibited activities
	18 USC 02113		Bank robbery and incidental crimes
	18 USC 02119		Carjacking
	18 USC 02241		Aggravated sexual abuse
	18 USC 02243		Sexual abuse of a minor or ward
	18 USC 02244		Abusive sexual contact
	18 USC 02251		Sexual exploitation of children
	18 USC 02252		Material involving sexual exploitation of minors
	18 USC 02312		Transportation of stolen vehicles
	18 USC 02314		Transportation of stolen goods, etc
	18 USC 02315		Sale or receipt of stolen goods, etc
	18 USC 02319		Criminal infringement of a copyright
	18 USC 02320		Trafficking in counterfeit goods or services
	18 USC 02422		Transport for sex - Coercion and enticement
	18 USC 02423		Transportation of minors for sexual activity
	18 USC 03146		Penalty for failure to appear
	18 USC 02252		Activity relating material constituting/containing child pornography
	21 USC 00841		Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A
	21 USC 00843		Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C
	21 USC 00846		Attempt and conspiracy
	21 USC 00848		Continuing criminal enterprise
	21 USC 00963		Attempt and conspiracy
	31 USC 05324		Structuring transactions to evade reporting requir
	42 USC 00408		Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties