Prosecutions for October 2017
Referring Agency: Social Security Administration
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during October 2017 the government reported 22 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 50 percent 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 2017 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-3.6%). 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 19.9 percent from levels reported in 2012.
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 2017 was for "Fraud-Federal Program", accounting for 50 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Fraud-Other" (13.6%), "Theft-Government Property" (13.6%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (13.6%), "Fraud-Federal Procurement" (4.5%), "Other-Regulatory Offenses" (4.5%). See Figure 2.
Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In October 2017, 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 involving "&mg_pos1_uscdescription.". This was the lead charge for percent of all magistrate filings in October.
Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In October 2017, 21 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 2017 referred by the Social Security Administration.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 14 1 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 2 2 More 42 USC 1320a-8b - Attempts to interfere with administration of Social 2 2 More 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 1 4 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 1 4 More 18 USC 1542 - False statement in application and use of passport 1 4 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 "Fraud/false statements or entries generally" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1001 and "8b - Attempts to interfere with administration of Social" under Title 42 U.S.C Section ..
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In October 2017 the Justice Department said the government brought 8.5 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 Mo, E 5 1 More Ohio, S 3 2 More Fla, S 2 3 More Arizona 1 4 More Ark, W 1 4 More Cal, S 1 4 More Colorado 1 4 More Ind, N 1 4 More La, W 1 4 More Mass 1 4 More N Mexico 1 4 More Nevada 1 4 More Penn, W 1 4 More S Car 1 4 More Virg, E 1 4 More Wash, W 1 4 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts
The Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) — with 5 prosecutions — was the most active during October 2017.
The Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati) ranked 2nd.
Southern District of Florida (Miami) 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 of this type during October 2017 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Noce, David D. Mo, E 2 1 More Campbell, David G. Arizona 1 2 More Sammartino, Janis Lynn Cal, S 1 2 More Jackson, Richard Brooke Colorado 1 2 More Cohn, James I. Fla, S 1 2 More Bloom, Beth Francine Fla, S 1 2 More Miller, Robert Lowell, Jr. Ind, N 1 2 More Kay, Kathleen La, W 1 2 More Baker, Nannette A. Mo, E 1 2 More Mensah, Shirley P. Mo, E 1 2 More Cohen, Patricia L. Mo, E 1 2 More Mahan, James C. Nevada 1 2 More Dlott, Susan J. Ohio, S 1 2 More Sargus, Edmund A., Jr. Ohio, S 1 2 More Watson, Michael H. Ohio, S 1 2 More Gibson, Kim R. Penn, W 1 2 More Hudson, Henry E. Virg, E 1 2 More Leighton, Ronald B. Wash, W 1 2 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 18 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 18 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge David D. Noce in the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) ranked 1st with 2 defendants in cases.
Judges David G. Campbell in the District of Arizona, Janis Lynn Sammartino in the Southern District of California (San Diego), Richard Brooke Jackson in the District of Colorado, James I. Cohn in the Southern District of Florida (Miami), Beth Francine Bloom in the Southern District of Florida (Miami), Robert Lowell Miller, Jr. in the Northern District of Indiana (South Bend), Kathleen Kay in the Western District of Louisiana (Shreveport), Nannette A. Baker in the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis ranked 2nd with 1 defendants in cases.
Report Generated: November 28, 2017
