Government Regulatory Prosecutions for August 2012
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2012 the government reported 192 new government regulatory prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 9.1% 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 2012 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-8.5 percent). 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 27.4 percent from levels reported in 2007.
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 August 2012 was for "Other-Regulatory Offenses", accounting for 46.9 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Counterfeiting and Forgery" (30.7%), " Money Laundering-Other" (6.3%), "Customs-Currency Violations" (5.2%), "Money Laundering-Drug" (5.2%), "Export Enforcement General" (3.6%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for government regulatory prosecutions in August 2012 was Interior accounting for 36 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of government regulatory referrals were: SecServ (23% ), DHS (15%), IRS (5%), FBI (4%). See Figure 3.
Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In August 2012, 99 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 August the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 36 U.S.C Section . involving the "Possession of a controlled substance". This was the lead charge for 13.1 percent of all magistrate filings in August.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "18 USC 19 - Petty Offense Defined" (10.1%), "36 CFR 2.35a2ii - Possession of alcohol by a minor" (7.1%), "18 USC 472 - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities" (5.1%), " 36 CFR 4.21c - Speeding" (5.1%).
Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In August 2012, 93 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during August there were an additional 22 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 August.
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 August 2012.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 472 - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities 16 1 More 31 USC 5332 - Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States 15 2 More 18 USC 471 - Obligations or securities of United States 10 3 More 18 USC 513 - Securities of the States and private entities 8 4 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 6 5 More 18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 5 6 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 4 7 More 18 USC 1957 - Monetary transactions w/property from unlawful act 4 7 More 18 USC 510 - Forging endorsements on Treasury checks, bonds se 3 9 More 18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices 3 9 More 22 USC 2778 - Control of arms exports and imports 3 9 More 36 CFR 2.35b2 - Possession of a controlled substance 3 9 More Table 2: Top charges filed
"Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 472) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States" under Title 31 U.S.C Section 5332.
Ranked 3rd was "Obligations or securities of United States" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 471.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In August 2012 the Justice Department said the government brought 45 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.
The District of South Carolina—with 9 prosecutions—was the most active during August 2012.
The Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) ranked 2nd.
Southern District of Florida (Miami), Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis), Western District of Texas (San Antonio) and District of Wyoming are 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 August 2012 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Autrey, Henry Edward Mo, E 6 1 More England, Morrison C., Jr. Cal, E 3 2 More Rosenbaum, Robin S. Fla, S 3 2 More Lefkow, Joan Humphrey Ill, N 3 2 More Pallmeyer, Rebecca R. Ill, N 3 2 More Bramlette, David C., III Miss, S 3 2 More Gossett, F.A. Nebraska 3 2 More Gwin, James S. Ohio, N 3 2 More Martinez, Philip Ray Texas, W 3 2 More O'Grady, Liam Virg, E 3 2 More Johnson, Alan Bond Wyoming 3 2 More Table 4: Top 10 judges
A total of 9 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of government regulatory filings , while the remaining 2 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 11 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Henry Edward Autrey in the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) ranked 1st with 6 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Judges Morrison C. England, Jr. in the Eastern District of California (Sacramento), Robin S. Rosenbaum in the Southern District of Florida (Miami), Joan Humphrey Lefkow in the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago), Rebecca R. Pallmeyer in the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago), David C. Bramlette, III in the Southern District of Mississippi (Jackson), F.A. Gossett in the District of Nebraska, James S. Gwin in the Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland), Philip Ray Martinez in the Western District, ranked 2nd with 3 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Report Generated: November 19, 2012
