Convictions for July 2017
Referring Agency: Internal Revenue Service
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during July 2017 the government reported 116 new convictions for these matters. Those cases were referred by the Internal Revenue Service. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 2.7 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted 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 2017 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-21.5%). Convictions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are up 4.9 percent from levels reported in 2012.
The leveling out from the levels five years ago in convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of convictions 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.
Cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
The largest number of convictions of these matters in July 2017 was for "Fraud-Tax", accounting for 55.2 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (11.2%), "Fraud-Other" (9.5%), "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (5.2%), "Fraud-Financial Institution" (3.4%), "Money Laundering-Other" (3.4%). See Figure 2.
Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In July 2017, no defendants in 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.
Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In July 2017, 116 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during July there were an additional 0 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 July.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during July 2017 referred by the Internal Revenue Service.
Lead Charge Count Rank 26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements 18 1 More 18 USC 287 - False, fictitious or fraudulent claims 9 2 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 9 2 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 8 4 More 26 USC 7201 - Attempt to evade or defeat tax 7 5 More 18 USC 286 - Conspiracy to defraud the Government claims 6 6 More 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 6 6 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 5 8 More 18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices 4 9 More 26 USC 7202 - Willful failure to collect or pay over tax 4 9 More Table 2. Top Charges for Convictions
"Fraud and False statements" (Title 26 U.S.C Section 7206) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency were the lead charges "False, fictitious or fraudulent claims" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 287 and "Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 371.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In July 2017 the Justice Department said the government obtained 43.3 convictions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.
The Middle District of Florida (Tampa) and Southern District of Florida (Miami) — with 8 convictions — were the most active during July 2017.
Northern District of California (San Francisco) 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 crime cases resulting in convictions of this type during July 2017 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Greer, J. Ronnie Tenn, E 5 1 More Benitez, Roger T. Cal, S 3 2 More Hicks, S. Maurice, Jr. La, W 3 2 More Burrell, Garland Ellis, Jr. Cal, E 2 4 More O'Neill, Lawrence Joseph Cal, E 2 4 More Chen, Edward Milton Cal, N 2 4 More Gilliam, Haywood Stirling, Jr. Cal, N 2 4 More Chappell, Sheri Polster Fla, M 2 4 More Zloch, William J. Fla, S 2 4 More Martinez, Jose E. Fla, S 2 4 More Scola, Robert Nichols, Jr. Fla, S 2 4 More Moody, James Tyne Ind, N 2 4 More Blake, Catherine C. Maryland 2 4 More Wright, Wilhelmina Marie Minnesota 2 4 More Dever, James C., III N Car, E 2 4 More Arleo, Madeline C. N. J. 2 4 More Mahan, James C. Nevada 2 4 More Jones, C. Darnell, II Penn, E 2 4 More Schreier, Karen E. S Dakota 2 4 More Stadtmueller, Joseph Peter Wisc, E 2 4 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 14 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of convictions , while the remaining 6 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 20 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge J. Ronnie Greer in the Eastern District of Tennessee (Knoxville) ranked 1st with 5 convicted in convictions.
Judges Roger T. Benitez in the Southern District of California (San Diego) and S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. in the Western District of Louisiana (Shreveport) ranked 2nd with 3 convicted in convictions.
Report Generated: August 31, 2017
