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 01325		Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.
	08 USC 01326		Reentry of deported alien
	15 USC 00078j		Use/employ any manipulative/deceptive device/ in contravention
	16 USC 00470		Archeological Resource Protection
	17 USC 00506		Copyright infringement - Criminal offenses
	18 USC 00003		Accessory after the fact
	18 USC 00004		Misprision of Felony
	18 USC 00013		Laws of States Adopted in Federal jurisdiction
	18 USC 00032		Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities
	18 USC 00081		Arson in special maritime and territorial jurisdic
	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 00117		Domestic assault by an habitual offender
	18 USC 00152		Concealment of assets; false oaths and claims; etc
	18 USC 00153		Embezzlement by trustee or officer
	18 USC 00157		Bankruptcy Fraud
	18 USC 00201		Bribery of public officials and witnesses
	18 USC 00215		Receipt of commissions or gifts for procuring loan
	18 USC 00241		Conspiracy against rights
	18 USC 00242		Deprivation of rights under color of law
	18 USC 00245		Federally protected activities
	18 USC 00247		Damage to religious prop; obstruct religious excer
	18 USC 00286		Conspiracy to defraud the Government claims
	18 USC 00287		False, fictitious or fraudulent claims
	18 USC 00371		Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US
	18 USC 00373		Solicitation to commit a crime of violence
	18 USC 00401		Power of Court
	18 USC 00641		Public money, property or records
	18 USC 00654		Officer or employee of US converting property
	18 USC 00656		Theft/embezzlement/misapplication by bank off, emp
	18 USC 00657		Lending, credit and insurance institutions
	18 USC 00661		Embezzelement/theft in special jurisdictions
	18 USC 00666		Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds
	18 USC 00751		Escape - Prisoners in custody
	18 USC 00842		Explosives - Importation, manufacture, etc
	18 USC 00844		Explosives - Importation and storage of explosives
	18 USC 00871		Threats against President and successors
	18 USC 00875		Interstate Communications
	18 USC 00876		Mailing threatening communications
	18 USC 00922		Firearms; Unlawful acts
	18 USC 00924		Firearms; Penalties
	18 USC 00981		Civil Forfeiture
	18 USC 01001		Fraud/false statements or entries generally
	18 USC 01014		Fraud - Loan and credit applications etc
	18 USC 01028		Fraud and related activity - id documents
	18 USC 01028A		Aggravated Identity Theft
	18 USC 01029		Fraud and related activity - access devices
	18 USC 01030		Fraud and related activity - computers
	18 USC 01033		Insurance Fraud
	18 USC 01035		False claims relating to health care matters
	18 USC 01073		Flight to Avoid Prosecution or Giving Testimony
	18 USC 01111		Murder
	18 USC 01117		Conspiracy to murder
	18 USC 01118		Murder by a federal prisoner
	18 USC 01152		Indian Country - Law governing
	18 USC 01163		Embezzlement and theft from Indian Tribal organiza
	18 USC 01201		Kidnaping
	18 USC 01204		International parental kidnapping
	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 01348		Securities Fraud
	18 USC 01349		Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy
	18 USC 01366		Destruction of an energy facility
	18 USC 01470		Transfer of obscene materials to minors
	18 USC 01512		Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant
	18 USC 01521		Retaliate against federal judge/law enforcement false claim/slander
	18 USC 01544		Misuse of passport
	18 USC 01546		Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents
	18 USC 01589		Forced Labor
	18 USC 01591		Sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion
	18 USC 01623		False declarations before grand jury or court
	18 USC 01791		Providing or possessing contraband in prison
	18 USC 01832		Theft of trade secrets
	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 01958		Interstate commerce facilities - murder for hire
	18 USC 01959		Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity
	18 USC 01961		RICO - definitions
	18 USC 01962		RICO - prohibited activities
	18 USC 02111		Robbery/burglary - Special jurisdiction
	18 USC 02113		Bank robbery and incidental crimes
	18 USC 02118		Robberies/burglaries w/controlled substances
	18 USC 02119		Carjacking
	18 USC 02241		Aggravated sexual abuse
	18 USC 02242		Sexual abuse
	18 USC 02243		Sexual abuse of a minor or ward
	18 USC 02244		Abusive sexual contact
	18 USC 02250		Fail to register as sex offender after traveling interstate commerce
	18 USC 02251		Sexual exploitation of children
	18 USC 02252		Material involving sexual exploitation of minors
	18 USC 02252A		Activity relating material constituting/containing chil
	18 USC 02256		Sexual exploitation/other abuse of children
	18 USC 02314		Transportation of stolen goods, etc
	18 USC 02315		Sale or receipt of stolen goods, etc
	18 USC 02320		Trafficking in counterfeit goods or services
	18 USC 02339A		Providing material support to terrorists
	18 USC 02342		Trafficking in contraband cigarettes Unlawful acts
	18 USC 02421		Transportation for illegal sexual activity and related crimes
	18 USC 02422		Transport for sex - Coercion and enticement
	18 USC 02423		Transportation of minors for sexual activity
	18 USC 03144		Release or detention of a material witness
	18 USC 03583		Term of supervised release after imprisonment
	21 USC 00841		Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A
	21 USC 00843		Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C
	21 USC 00844		Penalty for simple possession
	21 USC 00846		Attempt and conspiracy
	21 USC 00963		Attempt and conspiracy
	26 USC 05861		Tax on Making Firearms - Prohibited acts
	31 USC 05324		Structuring transactions to evade reporting requir
	46 USC 70503		Possession control substance on vessel subject to jurisdiction of US
	46 USC 70506		Penalties
	47 USC 00223		Obscene or harrassing telephone calls
	49 USC 46504		Interference with flight crew members and attendants
	49 USC 46506		Application of Criminal Laws to Acts on Aircraft