Prosecutions for September 2024
Referring Agency: Internal Revenue Service
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during September 2024 the government reported 61 new prosecutions for these matters. Those cases were referred by the Internal Revenue Service. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 11.6 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 2024 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was only slightly down (-0.9%). 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 24.5 percent from levels reported in 2019.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Prosecutions
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 September 2024 was for "Fraud-Tax", accounting for 72.1 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (11.5%), "Fraud-Federal Program" (4.9%), "Fraud-Other" (3.3%). See Figure 2.
Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In September 2024, no 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.
Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In September 2024, 61 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during September there were an additional 8 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 September.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during September 2024 referred by the Internal Revenue Service.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements 20 1 1 1 More 26 USC 7202 - Willful failure to collect or pay over tax 14 2 4 6 More 18 USC 286 - Conspiracy to defraud the Government claims 6 3 19 7 More 26 USC 7201 - Attempt to evade or defeat tax 6 3 3 2 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 5 5 2 5 More 18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 2 6 6 15 More 18 USC 1349 - Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy 2 6 11 19 More 26 USC 7203 - Willful failure to file return, supply information 2 6 10 11 More 18 USC 287 - False, fictitious or fraudulent claims 1 9 - 7 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 1 9 7 3 More 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 1 9 11 13 More 26 USC 7207 - Fraudulent returns, statements, or other documents 1 9 - - More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Fraud and False statements" (Title 26 U.S.C Section 7206) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Fraud and False statements" (Title 26 U.S.C Section 7206) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Willful failure to collect or pay over tax" under Title 26 U.S.C Section 7202. "Willful failure to collect or pay over tax" under Title 26 U.S.C Section 7202 was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 6 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd were "Conspiracy to defraud the Government claims" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 286 and "Attempt to evade or defeat tax" under Title 26 U.S.C Section 7201. "Attempt to evade or defeat tax" under Title 26 U.S.C Section 7201 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 500 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 286 that involves " Conspiracy to defraud the Government claims ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 200 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " Bank Fraud " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1344 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 35.2 percent — was " Fraud by wire, radio, or television " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1343 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 50 percent — was for filings where the lead charge was " False, fictitious or fraudulent claims " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 287 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In September 2024 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 24.8 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 N. J. 10 1 More Mich, E 5 2 More Ohio, N 5 2 More Texas, E 5 2 More Cal, E 4 5 More Mass 4 5 More Cal, N 3 7 More Cal, C 2 8 More Delaware 2 8 More Fla, M 2 8 More Fla, S 2 8 More N Car, E 2 8 More N. Y., S 2 8 More Penn, E 2 8 More Texas, N 2 8 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts
The District of New Jersey — with 10 prosecutions — was the most active during September 2024.
The Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit), Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland) and Eastern District of Texas (Tyler) 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 September 2024 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Leitman, Matthew Frederick Mich, E 3 1 More Adams, John R. Ohio, N 3 1 More Jordan, Sean D. Texas, E 3 1 More Hall, Jennifer Delaware 2 4 More Salas, Esther N. J. 2 4 More Lioi, Sara Elizabeth Ohio, N 2 4 More Mitchell, K. Nicole Texas, E 2 4 More Walter, John F. Cal, C 1 8 More Wright, Otis D., II Cal, C 1 8 More Chesney, Maxine M. Cal, N 1 8 More DeMarchi, Virginia K. Cal, N 1 8 More Dooley, Kari Anne Conn 1 8 More Chutkan, Tanya Sue D. C. 1 8 More Antoon, John, II Fla, M 1 8 More Berger, Wendy Williams Fla, M 1 8 More Cannon, Aileen Mercedes Fla, S 1 8 More Wilder-Doomes, Erin La, M 1 8 More Walker, Lance Edward Maine 1 8 More Saris, Patti B. Mass 1 8 More Stearns, Richard Gaylore Mass 1 8 More Casper, Denise Jefferson Mass 1 8 More Talwani, Indira Mass 1 8 More Edmunds, Nancy Garlock Mich, E 1 8 More Berg, Terrence George Mich, E 1 8 More Counts, Lajuana M. Mo, W 1 8 More Martini, William J. N. J. 1 8 More Cecchi, Claire Claudia N. J. 1 8 More Graham, James L. Ohio, S 1 8 More Simon, Michael Howard Oregon 1 8 More Pittman, Mark Timothy Texas, N 1 8 More Biery, Samuel Frederick, Jr. Texas, W 1 8 More Gibney, John Adrian, Jr. Virg, E 1 8 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 23 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of filings , while the remaining 9 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 32 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judges Matthew Frederick Leitman in the Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit), John R. Adams in the Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland) and Sean D. Jordan in the Eastern District of Texas (Tyler) ranked 1st with 3 defendants in cases.
Report Generated: November 1, 2024
