Government Regulatory Prosecutions for April 2018

Number Latest Month 141
Percent Change from previous month 6.0
Percent Change from 1 year ago -22.8
Percent Change from 5 years ago
(Including Magistrate Court)
-49.8
Percent Change from 5 years ago
(Excluding Magistrate Court)
-42.5
Table 1. Criminal Government Regulatory Prosecutions

The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during April 2018 the government reported 141 new government regulatory prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 6 percent over the previous month.

The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with government regulatory-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).

When monthly 2018 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-22.8%). Prosecutions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are down 49.8 percent from levels reported in 2013.

Bar and line plot of FYMON

Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Government Regulatory Prosecutions

The decrease from the levels five years ago in government regulatory prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of government regulatory prosecutions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.

Within the broad category of government regulatory, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.

Case types within government regulatory are

  • Counterfeiting and Forgery

  • Customs Violations - Duty

  • Customs Violations - Currency

  • Energy Pricing and Related Fraud

  • Health and Safety Violations - Employees

  • Health and Safety Violations - General Public

  • Copyright Violations

  • Trafficking in Contraband Cigarettes

  • Energy Violations - Nuclear Waste Issues

  • Money Laundering/Structuring (Narcotics)

  • Money Laundering/Structuring (Other)

  • Export Enforcement General

  • Other Government Regulatory Offenses

The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in April 2018 was for "Other-Regulatory Offenses", accounting for 46.1 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Counterfeiting and Forgery" (17.7%), "Money Laundering-Drug" (14.9%), "Money Laundering-Other" (10.6%), "Customs-Currency Violations" (6.4%), "Export Enforcement General" (3.5%). See Figure 2.

The lead investigative agency for government regulatory prosecutions in April 2018 was Interior accounting for 24 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of government regulatory referrals were: FBI (20% ), DHS (14%), SecServ (14%), Agri (8%). See Figure 3.

Pie chart of progcatlabel

Figure 2. Specific Types of Prosecutions
Pie chart of agenrevgrp

Figure 3. Prosecutions by Investigative Agency

Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts

Top Ranked Lead Charges

In April 2018, 59 defendants in government regulatory cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.

In the magistrate courts in April the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 36 U.S.C Section . involving "Violation of state law for vehicle used off roads". This was the lead charge for 13.6 percent of all magistrate filings in April.

Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "18 USC 472 - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities" (8.5%).

Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts

In April 2018, 82 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during April there were an additional 8 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during April.

Top Ranked Lead Charges

Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of government regulatory matters filed in U.S. District Court during April 2018.

Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago  
18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 25 1 1 3 More
18 USC 1952 - Racketeering -interstate/foreign travel/transport 14 2 18 - More
21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 10 3 18 12 More
18 USC 472 - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities 9 4 2 2 More
18 USC 471 - Obligations or securities of United States 6 5 3 1 More
31 USC 5332 - Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States 3 6 5 5 More
50 USC 1701 - War and National Defense - Unusual and extraordinary threat 3 6 - 44 More
18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States 2 8 7 20 More
18 USC 1349 - Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy 2 8 24 35 More
21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 2 8 24 23 More
Table 2. Top Charges Filed

  • "Laundering of monetary instruments" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1956) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Laundering of monetary instruments" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1956) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 five years ago.

  • Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Racketeering -interstate/foreign travel/transport" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1952.

  • Ranked 3rd was "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846.

Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 433.3 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 that involves " Attempt and conspiracy ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 200 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " War and National Defense - Unusual and extraordinary threat " (Title 50 U.S.C Section 1701 ).

Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 3 percent — was " Obligations or securities of United States " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 471 ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease — 64.8 % — when compared with five years ago.

Top Ranked Judicial Districts

In April 2018 the Justice Department said the government brought 33.4 government regulatory prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.

Understandably, there is great variation in the number of government regulatory prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.

The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.


Judicial District Count Rank  
S Car 14 1 More
Texas, W 12 2 More
Texas, S 8 3 More
Fla, S 7 4 More
Cal, N 5 5 More
Kansas 5 5 More
Cal, C 3 7 More
Mo, E 3 7 More
Cal, S 2 9 More
Ill, S 2 9 More
N Dakota 2 9 More
Ohio, S 2 9 More
Penn, M 2 9 More
Tenn, W 2 9 More
Table 3. Top 10 Districts

  • The District of South Carolina — with 14 prosecutions — was the most active during April 2018.

  • The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd.

  • Southern District of Texas (Houston) is now ranking 3rd.

Top Ranked District Judges

At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new government regulatory crime cases of this type during April 2018 are shown in Table 4.

Judge Count Rank  
Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 8 1 More
Moses, Alia M. Texas, W 6 2 More
Pitman, Robert Texas, W 4 3 More
Breyer, Charles R. Cal, N 3 4 More
Cooke, Marcia G. Fla, S 3 4 More
Robinson, Julie A. Kansas 3 4 More
Hayes, William Q. Cal, S 2 7 More
Dimitrouleas, William P. Fla, S 2 7 More
Herndon, David R. Ill, S 2 7 More
Murguia, Carlos Kansas 2 7 More
Ross, John Andrew Mo, E 2 7 More
Hovland, Daniel L. N Dakota 2 7 More
Kane, Yvette Penn, M 2 7 More
Fowlkes, John Thomas, Jr. Tenn, W 2 7 More
Table 4. Top Ten Judges

All 14 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of government regulatory filings. (Because of ties, there were a total of 14 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)

  • Judge Andrew S. Hanen in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st with 8 defendants in government regulatory cases.

  • Judge Alia M. Moses in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd with 6 defendants in government regulatory cases.

  • Judge Robert Pitman in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 3rd with 4 defendants in government regulatory cases.

Report Generated: May 23, 2018
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