Government Regulatory Prosecutions for October 2018
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during October 2018 the government reported 72 new government regulatory prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 26.5 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 (-46%). 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 56.1 percent from levels reported in 2013.
The dip in these cases is partly related to increases in the matters filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. If magistrate cases are excluded and only Federal District Court cases are counted, the overall decrease in government regulatory prosecutions is 43.8 percent instead of 56.1 percent. The evidence suggests that part of the difference may be the result of improvements in the recording of the magistrate cases by the Justice Department.
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 October 2018 was for "Other-Regulatory Offenses", accounting for 31.9 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Counterfeiting and Forgery" (18.1%), "Money Laundering-Other" (15.3%), "Customs-Currency Violations" (13.9%), "Export Enforcement General" (8.3%), "Money Laundering-Drug" (5.6%), "Contraband Cigarettes-Trafficking in" (2.8%), "Health and Safety Violations-Employees" (2.8%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for government regulatory prosecutions in October 2018 was DHS accounting for 28 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of government regulatory referrals were: Interior (25% ), FBI (15%), SecServ (13%), DEA (6%). See Figure 3.
Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In October 2018, 33 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 October the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 31 U.S.C Section 5332 involving "Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States". This was the lead charge for 24.2 percent of all magistrate filings in October.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "Other US Code Section" (21.2%).
Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In October 2018, 39 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during October there were an additional 6 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 October.
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 October 2018.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 6 1 More 18 USC 2314 - Transportation of stolen goods, etc 5 2 More 18 USC 471 - Obligations or securities of United States 4 3 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 4 3 More 31 USC 5332 - Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States 4 3 More 18 USC 472 - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities 3 6 More 18 USC 513 - Securities of the States and private entities 3 6 More 18 USC 2320 - Trafficking in counterfeit goods or services 3 6 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 1 9 More 18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States 1 9 More 18 USC 661 - Embezzelement/theft in special jurisdictions 1 9 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 1 9 More 18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices 1 9 More 18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 1 9 More 18 USC 1542 - False statement in application and use of passport 1 9 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 1 9 More 18 USC 1957 - Monetary transactions w/property from unlawful act 1 9 More 31 USC 5324 - Structuring transactions to evade reporting requir 1 9 More 33 USC 1232 - Ports and Waterways - Enforcement Provisions 1 9 More 36 CFR 2.10d - Improper Food Storage 1 9 More 42 USC 1320a-7 - Exclusion of certain individuals and entities from participation in Medicare and State health care programs 1 9 More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Laundering of monetary instruments" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1956) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Transportation of stolen goods, etc" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 2314.
Ranked 3rd were "Obligations or securities of United States" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 471, "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 and "Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States" under Title 31 U.S.C Section 5332.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In October 2018 the Justice Department said the government brought 16.6 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 Virg, E 6 1 More Cal, C 5 2 More Fla, M 4 3 More Okla, N 4 3 More Fla, S 3 5 More Penn, W 3 5 More Mo, W 2 7 More Texas, S 2 7 More Ala, N 1 9 More Cal, S 1 9 More Ga, N 1 9 More Iowa, N 1 9 More Minnesota 1 9 More Mo, E 1 9 More N Car, E 1 9 More N Car, W 1 9 More Nevada 1 9 More Ohio, N 1 9 More Puer Rico 1 9 More R. I. 1 9 More S Car 1 9 More Texas, N 1 9 More Texas, W 1 9 More Wyoming 1 9 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts
The Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria) — with 6 prosecutions — was the most active during October 2018.
The Central District of California (Los Angeles) ranked 2nd.
Middle District of Florida (Tampa) and Northern District of Oklahoma (Tulsa) 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 October 2018 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Gibney, John Adrian, Jr. Virg, E 5 1 More Kronstadt, John Arnold Cal, C 4 2 More Dowdell, John Edward Okla, N 4 2 More Ketchmark, Roseann Ambrosia Mo, W 2 4 More Kallon, Abdul Karim Ala, N 1 5 More Tucker, Josephine Staton Cal, C 1 5 More Whelan, Thomas J. Cal, S 1 5 More Honeywell, Charlene Vanessa Edwards Fla, M 1 5 More Altonaga, Cecilia M. Fla, S 1 5 More Martinez, Jose E. Fla, S 1 5 More Bloom, Beth Francine Fla, S 1 5 More Wright, Wilhelmina Marie Minnesota 1 5 More Perry, Catherine D. Mo, E 1 5 More Cogburn, Max Oliver, Jr. N Car, W 1 5 More Boulware, Richard Franklin, II Nevada 1 5 More Cerezo, Carmen Consuelo Puer Rico 1 5 More Smith, William E. R. I. 1 5 More Cummings, Samuel Ray Texas, N 1 5 More Briones, David Texas, W 1 5 More Morgan, Henry Coke, Jr. Virg, E 1 5 More Carman, Mark L. Wyoming 1 5 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 21 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 21 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge John Adrian Gibney, Jr. in the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria) ranked 1st with 5 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Judges John Arnold Kronstadt in the Central District of California (Los Angeles) and John Edward Dowdell in the Northern District of Oklahoma (Tulsa) ranked 2nd with 4 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Report Generated: December 6, 2018
