Official Corruption Prosecutions for April 2019
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during April 2019 the government reported 51 new official corruption prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 70 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with official corruption-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 2019 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up (6.5%). 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 percent from levels reported in 2014.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Official Corruption Prosecutions
The decrease from the levels five years ago in official corruption prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of official corruption 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 official corruption, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within official corruption are
Federal Corruption - Procurement
Federal Corruption - Program
Federal Corruption - Law Enforcement
Federal Corruption - Other
State Corruption
Local Corruption
Other Public Corruption
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in April 2019 was for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Other", accounting for 49 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Local" (17.6%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Other" (13.7%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-State" (11.8%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Law Enforcement" (3.9%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for official corruption prosecutions in April 2019 was FBI accounting for 75 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of official corruption referrals were: Postal (6% ), DHS (4%), Justice Other (4%), IRS (2%). See Figure 3.
Official Corruption Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In April 2019, 2 defendants in official corruption 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 April the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1341 involving "Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles". This was the lead charge for 100 percent of all magistrate filings in April.
Official Corruption Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In April 2019, 49 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during April there were an additional 3 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 April.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of official corruption matters filed in U.S. District Court during April 2019.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 21 1 - - More 18 USC 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses 5 2 6 3 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 5 2 9 5 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 4 4 3 5 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 3 5 2 2 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 3 5 7 9 More 18 USC 1709 - Theft of mail matter by officer or employee 3 5 7 10 More 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 2 8 1 1 More 18 USC 1030 - Fraud and related activity - computers 1 9 - - More 18 USC 1163 - Embezzlement and theft from Indian Tribal organiza 1 9 - - More 18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles 1 9 17 5 More 18 USC 1503 - Influencing or injuring officer or juror generally 1 9 14 - More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 1 9 5 11 More 42 USC 1983 - Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights 1 9 - - More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Firearms; Unlawful acts" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 922) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency were the lead charges "Bribery of public officials and witnesses" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 201 and "Providing or possessing contraband in prison" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1791. "Bribery of public officials and witnesses" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 201 was ranked 6 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 five years ago."Providing or possessing contraband in prison" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1791 was ranked 9 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 150 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 201 that involves " Bribery of public officials and witnesses ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 36.4 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " Fraud by wire, radio, or television " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1343 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 55.6 percent — was " Attempt and conspiracy " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 58.3 percent — was for filings where the lead charge was " Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 666 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In April 2019 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 19.2 official corruption prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of official corruption prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 official corruption prosecutions to receive a ranking.
The District of Maryland — with 416 prosecutions as compared with 19.2 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during April 2019.
The Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) ranked 2nd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Maryland , now ranked 1st , and Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) at 2nd In the same order, these districts ranked 17th and 37th one year ago and 35th and .th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of official corruption prosecutions compared to one year ago — 700 percent — was Maryland . This was the same district that had the largest increase — 1100 percent — when compared with five years ago.
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 official corruption crime cases of this type during April 2019 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Bredar, James Kelleher Maryland 21 1 - - More Baker, Kristine Gerhard Ark, E 5 2 - - More Cogburn, Max Oliver, Jr. N Car, W 4 3 - - More Wolford, Elizabeth Ann N. Y., W 2 4 - - More Coogler, L. Scott Ala, N 1 5 - - More Proctor, R. David Ala, N 1 5 40 - More Haikala, Madeline H. Ala, N 1 5 - - More Markovich, Eric J. Arizona 1 5 - - More Hogan, Thomas Francis D. C. 1 5 - 39 More Maloney, Paul Lewis Mich, W 1 5 40 - More Kent, Ray Mich, W 1 5 - - More Martini, William J. N. J. 1 5 - - More McHugh, Gerald Austin, Jr. Penn, E 1 5 - - More Greer, J. Ronnie Tenn, E 1 5 - - More Lipman, Sheryl Halle Tenn, W 1 5 - - More Cummings, Samuel Ray Texas, N 1 5 - 39 More Frost, E. Scott Texas, N 1 5 - - More Conley, William Martin Wisc, W 1 5 40 - More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 2 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of official corruption filings per capita, while the remaining 16 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 18 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge James Kelleher Bredar in the District of Maryland ranked 1st with 21 defendants in official corruption cases.
Judge Kristine Gerhard Baker in the Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) ranked 2nd with 5 defendants in official corruption cases.
Judge Max Oliver Cogburn, Jr. in the Western District of North Carolina (Asheville) ranked 3rd with 4 defendants in official corruption cases.
Report Generated: May 31, 2019
