Government Regulatory Prosecutions for December 2023
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during December 2023 the government reported 53 new government regulatory prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 41.1 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with government regulatory-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 2023 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-2.3%). 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 32.9 percent from levels reported in 2018.
The dip in these cases is partly related to increases in the matters filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. If magistrate cases are excluded and only Federal District Court cases are counted, the overall decrease in government regulatory prosecutions is 25.4 percent instead of 32.9 percent. The evidence suggests that part of the difference may be the result of improvements in the recording of the magistrate cases by the Justice Department.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Government Regulatory Prosecutions
The decrease from the levels five years ago in government regulatory prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of government regulatory 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 government regulatory, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within government regulatory are
Counterfeiting and Forgery
Customs Violations - Duty
Customs Violations - Currency
Energy Pricing and Related Fraud
Health and Safety Violations - Employees
Health and Safety Violations - General Public
Copyright Violations
Trafficking in Contraband Cigarettes
Energy Violations - Nuclear Waste Issues
Money Laundering/Structuring (Narcotics)
Money Laundering/Structuring (Other)
Export Enforcement General
Other Government Regulatory Offenses
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in December 2023 was for "Other-Regulatory Offenses", accounting for 41.5 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Money Laundering-Other" (34%), "Customs-Duty Violations" (7.5%), "Counterfeiting and Forgery" (5.7%), "Money Laundering-Drug" (5.7%), "Customs-Currency Violations" (3.8%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for government regulatory prosecutions in December 2023 was DHS accounting for 23 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of government regulatory referrals were: IRS (17% ), Interior (15%), FBI (13%), Veteran (9%). See Figure 3.
Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In December 2023, 24 defendants in government regulatory 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 December the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 50 U.S.C Section . involving "Hunting on or over a baited area". This was the lead charge for 20.8 percent of all magistrate filings in December.
Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In December 2023, 29 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during December there were an additional 4 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 December.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of government regulatory matters filed in U.S. District Court during December 2023.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 9 1 More 18 USC 1960 - Prohibition of illegal money transmitting business 5 2 More 31 USC 5332 - Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States 4 3 More 18 USC 472 - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities 3 4 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 3 4 More 31 USC 5313 - Reports on domestic coins and currency transaction 2 6 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 1 7 More 18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States 1 7 More 18 USC 1349 - Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy 1 7 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 1 7 More 49 USC 46504 - Interference with flight crew members and attendants 1 7 More 50 USC 1701 - War and National Defense - Unusual and extraordinary threat 1 7 More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Laundering of monetary instruments" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1956) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Prohibition of illegal money transmitting business" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1960.
Ranked 3rd was "Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States" under Title 31 U.S.C Section 5332.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In December 2023 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 11.9 government regulatory prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of government regulatory 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 Texas, S 5 1 More Utah 5 1 More Texas, W 4 3 More Cal, C 3 4 More Fla, S 3 4 More Ill, N 2 6 More Wash, E 2 6 More Alaska 1 8 More Arizona 1 8 More Cal, S 1 8 More D. C. 1 8 More Iowa, N 1 8 More Maryland 1 8 More N. J. 1 8 More N. Y., E 1 8 More Ohio, S 1 8 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts
The Southern District of Texas (Houston) and District of Utah — with 5 prosecutions — were the most active during December 2023.
Western District of Texas (San Antonio) 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 government regulatory crime cases of this type during December 2023 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Sam, David Utah 5 1 More Ellison, Keith P. Texas, S 4 2 More Fischer, Dale S. Cal, C 2 3 More Moses, Alia M. Texas, W 2 3 More Bastian, Stanley Allen Wash, E 2 3 More Humetewa, Diane Joyce Arizona 1 6 More Wright, Otis D., II Cal, C 1 6 More Curiel, Gonzalo Paul Cal, S 1 6 More Kollar-Kotelly, Colleen D. C. 1 6 More Martinez, Jose E. Fla, S 1 6 More Williams, Kathleen Mary Fla, S 1 6 More Ruiz, Rodolfo Armando, II Fla, S 1 6 More Gilbert, Jeffrey T. Ill, N 1 6 More Weisman, M. David Ill, N 1 6 More Bennett, Richard D. Maryland 1 6 More Newman, Michael J. Ohio, S 1 6 More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 1 6 More Cardone, Kathleen Texas, W 1 6 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 government regulatory filings. (Because of ties, there were a total of 18 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge David Sam in the District of Utah ranked 1st with 5 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Judge Keith P. Ellison in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 4 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Judges Dale S. Fischer in the Central District of California (Los Angeles), Alia M. Moses in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) and Stanley Allen Bastian in the Eastern District of Washington (Spokane) ranked 3rd with 2 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Report Generated: February 7, 2024
