Prosecutions for October 2012
Referring Agency: Social Security Administration
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during October 2012 the government reported 33 new prosecutions 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 51.5% over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged 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 (-14.4 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 14.7 percent from levels reported in 2007.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of 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.
Cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in October 2012 was for "Fraud-Federal Program", accounting for 51.5 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Theft-Government Property" (18.2%), " Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (15.2%), "Fraud-Other" (9.1%), "Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated" (3%), "Other Criminal Prosecutions" (3%). See Figure 2.
Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In October 2012, 1 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 October the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1028 involving the "Fraud and related activity - id documents". This was the lead charge for 100 percent of all magistrate filings in October.
Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In October 2012, 32 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during October there were an additional 2 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 matters filed in U.S. District Court during October 2012referred by the Social Security Administration.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 19 1 More 42 USC 408 - Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties 3 2 More 42 USC 1383a - Fraudulent acts; penalties; restitution 3 2 More 18 USC 1542 - False statement in application and use of passport 2 4 More 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 1 5 More 42 USC 1383 - Social Security -Procedure for payment of benefits 1 5 More Table 2: Top charges filed
"Public money, property or records" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 641) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency were the lead charges "Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties" under Title 42 U.S.C Section 408 and "Fraudulent acts; penalties; restitution" under Title 42 U.S.C Section 1383.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In October 2012 the Justice Department said the government brought 13.3 prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of 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, W 4 1 More Ken, E 3 2 More Mo, E 3 2 More Maryland 2 4 More Ohio, N 2 4 More Oregon 2 4 More Cal, E 1 7 More Conn 1 7 More Ga, N 1 7 More Idaho 1 7 More Ill, C 1 7 More Ill, N 1 7 More Ind, N 1 7 More La, E 1 7 More Mass 1 7 More Mich, E 1 7 More Mich, W 1 7 More Miss, S 1 7 More N Car, W 1 7 More Penn, E 1 7 More Penn, W 1 7 More Texas, W 1 7 More Virg, E 1 7 More Wash, W 1 7 More Table 3: Top 10 districts
The Western District of Virginia (Roanoke)—with 4 prosecutions—was the most active during October 2012.
The Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) and Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) ranked 2nd.
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 of this type during October 2012 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Moon, Norman K. Virg, W 3 1 More Bunning, David L. Ken, E 2 2 More Bennett, Richard D. Maryland 2 2 More Ishii, Anthony W. Cal, E 1 4 More Arterton, Janet Bond Conn 1 4 More Murphy, Harold Lloyd Ga, N 1 4 More Winmill, B. Lynn Idaho 1 4 More Mihm, Michael Martin Ill, C 1 4 More St. Eve, Amy J. Ill, N 1 4 More Springmann, Theresa Lazar Ind, N 1 4 More Van Tatenhove, Gregory Frederick Ken, E 1 4 More Duval, Stanwood R., Jr. La, E 1 4 More Ponsor, Michael Adrian Mass 1 4 More Cox, Sean Francis Mich, E 1 4 More Maloney, Paul Lewis Mich, W 1 4 More Ozerden, Halil Suleyman Miss, S 1 4 More Hamilton, Jean Constance Mo, E 1 4 More Jackson, Carol E. Mo, E 1 4 More Adelman, Terry I. Mo, E 1 4 More Conrad, Robert James, Jr. N Car, W 1 4 More Boyko, Christopher A. Ohio, N 1 4 More Lioi, Sara Elizabeth Ohio, N 1 4 More King, Garr M. Oregon 1 4 More Panner, Owen Murphy Oregon 1 4 More Davis, Legrome D. Penn, E 1 4 More Gibson, Kim R. Penn, W 1 4 More Rodriguez, Xavier Texas, W 1 4 More Davis, Mark Steven Virg, E 1 4 More Wilson, Samuel Grayson Virg, W 1 4 More Bryan, Robert Jensen Wash, W 1 4 More Table 4: Top 10 judges
All 30 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of filings . (Because of ties, there were a total of 30 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Norman K. Moon in the Western District of Virginia (Roanoke) ranked 1st with 3 defendants in cases.
Judges David L. Bunning in the Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) and Richard D. Bennett in the District of Maryland ranked 2nd with 2 defendants in cases.
Report Generated: February 6, 2013
