Convictions for July 2012
Referring Agency: Social Security Administration
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during July 2012 the government reported 42 new convictions for these matters. Those cases were referred by the Social Security Administration. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 6.7% 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 2012 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was only slightly up (1.1 percent). Convictions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are down 8.4 percent from levels reported in 2007.
The decrease 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 2012 was for "Fraud-Federal Program", accounting for 47.6 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Theft-Government Property" (26.2%), " Fraud-Financial Institution" (9.5%), "Fraud-Other" (7.1%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (7.1%), "Other-Regulatory Offenses" (2.4%). See Figure 2.
Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In July 2012, 3 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.
In the magistrate courts in July the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 641 involving the "Public money, property or records". This was the lead charge for 100 percent of all magistrate convictions in July.
Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In July 2012, 39 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 2012referred by the Social Security Administration.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 15 1 More 42 USC 408 - Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties 7 2 More 18 USC 1028A - Aggravated Identity Theft 4 3 More 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 2 4 More 18 USC 510 - Forging endorsements on Treasury checks, bonds se 1 5 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 1 5 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 1 5 More 18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 1 5 More 42 USC 1307 - Social Security - Penalty for fraud 1 5 More 42 USC 1383 - Social Security -Procedure for payment of benefits 1 5 More 42 USC 1383a - Fraudulent acts; penalties; restitution 1 5 More Table 2: Top charges for convictions
"Public money, property or records" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 641) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties" under Title 42 U.S.C Section 408.
Ranked 3rd was "Aggravated Identity Theft" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1028.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In July 2012 the Justice Department said the government obtained 15.2 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.
Judicial District Count Rank Wash, W 7 1 More Ala, M 5 2 More Fla, M 4 3 More Ind, N 3 4 More Ark, E 2 5 More La, W 2 5 More Mo, E 2 5 More N Car, E 2 5 More Cal, S 1 9 More Colorado 1 9 More Conn 1 9 More Fla, S 1 9 More Ga, N 1 9 More Ken, E 1 9 More Mich, W 1 9 More Okla, E 1 9 More Oregon 1 9 More Penn, M 1 9 More Tenn, W 1 9 More Wisc, E 1 9 More Table 3: Top 10 districts
The Western District of Washington (Seattle)—with 7 convictions—was the most active during July 2012.
The Middle District of Alabama (Montgomery) ranked 2nd.
Middle District of Florida (Tampa) 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 2012 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Fuller, Mark E. Ala, M 4 1 More Lasnik, Robert S. Wash, W 3 2 More Holmes, J[ames] Leon Ark, E 2 3 More Hodges, William Terrell Fla, M 2 3 More Cosbey, Roger B. Ind, N 2 3 More Thompson, Myron Herbert Ala, M 1 6 More Battaglia, Anthony M. Cal, S 1 6 More Arguello, Christine M. Colorado 1 6 More Kravitz, Mark R. Conn 1 6 More Moody, James S., Jr. Fla, M 1 6 More Howard, Marcia Morales Fla, M 1 6 More Lenard, Joan A. Fla, S 1 6 More Murphy, Harold Lloyd Ga, N 1 6 More Moody, James Tyne Ind, N 1 6 More Reeves, Danny C. Ken, E 1 6 More Stagg, Thomas E., Jr. La, W 1 6 More Foote, Elizabeth Erny La, W 1 6 More Jonker, Robert James Mich, W 1 6 More Sippel, Rodney W. Mo, E 1 6 More Adelman, Terry I. Mo, E 1 6 More Fox, James Carroll N Car, E 1 6 More Flanagan, Louise W. N Car, E 1 6 More White, Ronald A. Okla, E 1 6 More Aiken, Ann L. Oregon 1 6 More Rambo, Sylvia H. Penn, M 1 6 More Breen, J. Daniel Tenn, W 1 6 More Bryan, Robert Jensen Wash, W 1 6 More Coughenour, John C. Wash, W 1 6 More Martinez, Ricardo S. Wash, W 1 6 More Jones, Richard A. Wash, W 1 6 More Randa, Rudolph Thomas Wisc, E 1 6 More Table 4: Top 10 judges
All 31 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of convictions . (Because of ties, there were a total of 31 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Mark E. Fuller in the Middle District of Alabama (Montgomery) ranked 1st with 4 convicted in convictions.
Judge Robert S. Lasnik in the Western District of Washington (Seattle) ranked 2nd with 3 convicted in convictions.
Judges J[ames] Leon Holmes in the Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock), William Terrell Hodges in the Middle District of Florida (Tampa) and Roger B. Cosbey in the Northern District of Indiana (South Bend) ranked 3rd with 2 convicted in convictions.
Report Generated: October 1, 2012
