Official Corruption Prosecutions for August 2019

Number Latest Month 24
Percent Change from previous month -29.4
Percent Change from 1 year ago 10.9
Percent Change from 5 years ago
(Including Magistrate Court)
-21.4
Percent Change from 5 years ago
(Excluding Magistrate Court)
-21.6
Table 1. Criminal Official Corruption Prosecutions

The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2019 the government reported 24 new official corruption prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 29.4 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 (10.9%). 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 21.4 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 August 2019 was for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Other", accounting for 25 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Corruption(Govt Off)-State" (20.8%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Local" (16.7%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Program" (12.5%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Other" (12.5%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Procurement" (8.3%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Law Enforcement" (4.2%). See Figure 2.

The lead investigative agency for official corruption prosecutions in August 2019 was FBI accounting for 50 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of official corruption referrals were: Justice Other (8% ), Postal (8%), SecServ (8%), Veteran (8%). See Figure 3.

Pie chart of progcatlabel

Figure 2. Specific Types of Prosecutions
Pie chart of agenrevgrp

Figure 3. Prosecutions by Investigative Agency

Official Corruption Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts

Top Ranked Lead Charges

In August 2019, 1 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 August the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326 involving "Reentry of deported alien". This was the lead charge for 100 percent of all magistrate filings in August.

Official Corruption Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts

In August 2019, 23 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during August 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 August.

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 August 2019.

Lead Charge Count Rank  
18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 7 1 More
18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 4 2 More
18 USC 1163 - Embezzlement and theft from Indian Tribal organiza 2 3 More
18 USC 1512 - Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant 2 3 More
18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 2 3 More
18 USC 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses 1 7 More
18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 1 7 More
18 USC 472 - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities 1 7 More
18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 1 7 More
18 USC 1709 - Theft of mail matter by officer or employee 1 7 More
18 USC 1711 - Misappropriation of postal funds 1 7 More
18 USC 1952 - Racketeering -interstate/foreign travel/transport 1 7 More
Table 2. Top Charges Filed

  • "Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 666) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.

  • Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Public money, property or records" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 641.

  • Ranked 3rd were "Other US Code Section" under Title U.S.C Section, "Embezzlement and theft from Indian Tribal organiza" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1163, "Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1512 and "Providing or possessing contraband in prison" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1791.

Top Ranked Judicial Districts

In August 2019 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 9.6 official corruption prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.

Understandably, there is great variation in the 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 of this type last month are shown in Table 3.


Judicial District Count Rank  
N. Y., E 5 1 More
Ohio, N 2 2 More
S Dakota 2 2 More
Alaska 1 4 More
Ark, E 1 4 More
Ark, W 1 4 More
Cal, E 1 4 More
Fla, M 1 4 More
Fla, S 1 4 More
Ga, N 1 4 More
Ga, S 1 4 More
Ill, N 1 4 More
Ken, E 1 4 More
Mass 1 4 More
Mich, E 1 4 More
Mich, W 1 4 More
Ohio, S 1 4 More
Oregon 1 4 More
Texas, S 1 4 More
W Virg, S 1 4 More
Table 3. Top 10 Districts

  • The Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) — with 5 prosecutions — was the most active during August 2019.

  • The Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland) and District of South Dakota 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 official corruption crime cases of this type during August 2019 are shown in Table 4.

Judge Count Rank  
Irizarry, Dora L. N. Y., E 2 1 More
Chen, Pamela Ki Mai N. Y., E 2 1 More
Gleason, Sharon Louise Alaska 1 3 More
Baker, Kristine Gerhard Ark, E 1 3 More
Brooks, Timothy Lloyd Ark, W 1 3 More
Shubb, William B. Cal, E 1 3 More
Merryday, Steven Douglas Fla, M 1 3 More
Martinez, Jose E. Fla, S 1 3 More
King, Janet F. Ga, N 1 3 More
Gettleman, Robert William Ill, N 1 3 More
Van Tatenhove, Gregory Frederick Ken, E 1 3 More
Saris, Patti B. Mass 1 3 More
Steeh, George Caram, III Mich, E 1 3 More
Jonker, Robert James Mich, W 1 3 More
Amon, Carol Bagley N. Y., E 1 3 More
Gaughan, Patricia Anne Ohio, N 1 3 More
Baughman, William H., Jr. Ohio, N 1 3 More
Barrett, Michael Ryan Ohio, S 1 3 More
McShane, Michael Jerome Oregon 1 3 More
Crane, Randy Texas, S 1 3 More
Table 4. Top Ten Judges

All 20 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of official corruption filings. (Because of ties, there were a total of 20 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)

  • Judges Dora L. Irizarry in the Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) and Pamela Ki Mai Chen in the Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) ranked 1st with 2 defendants in official corruption cases.

  • Judges Sharon Louise Gleason in the District of Alaska, Kristine Gerhard Baker in the Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock), Timothy Lloyd Brooks in the Western District of Arkansas (Fort Smith), William B. Shubb in the Eastern District of California (Sacramento), Steven Douglas Merryday in the Middle District of Florida (Tampa), Jose E. Martinez in the Southern District of Florida (Miami), Janet F. King in the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta), Robert William Gettleman in the Northern Distri ranked 3rd with 1 defendants in official corruption cases.

Report Generated: September 19, 2019
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Copyright 2019, TRAC Reports, Inc.

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