White Collar Crime Prosecutions for September 2021
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during September 2021 the government reported 414 new white collar crime prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 13.7 percent over the previous month.
White Collar Crime
This report summarizes the government's recent efforts when it comes to combating white collar crime — the number of such cases, the investigative agencies involved, the laws cited, the busiest federal districts and the busiest federal judges.
See more...The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with white collar crime-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 2021 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up (44.5%). 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 19.7 percent from levels reported in 2016.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in white collar crime prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of white collar crime 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.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in White Collar Crime Prosecutions
Within the broad category of white collar crime, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within white collar crime are
• Federal Procurement Fraud • Federal Program Fraud • Tax Fraud • Arson for Profit • Other Insurance Fraud • Financial Institution Fraud • Bankruptcy Fraud • Advance Fee Schemes • Other Fraud Against Businesses • Consumer Fraud • Securities Fraud • Commodities Fraud • Other Investment Fraud • Antitrust Violations - Other • Computer Fraud • Health Care Fraud • Fraud Against Insurance Providers • Intellectual Property Violations • Insider Fraud Against Insurance Providers • MEWA (Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements) Fraud/MET • Antitrust Violations - Airlines • Antitrust Violations - Banking • Antitrust Violations - Defense Procurement • Antitrust Violations - Extraterritorial Application Of • Antitrust Violations - Finance Markets, Other than Banking • Telemarketing Fraud • Corporate Fraud • Identity Theft • Aggravated Identity Theft • Other White Collar Crime/Fraud The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in September 2021 was for "Fraud-Health Care", accounting for 20.5 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Fraud-Other" (18.6%), "Fraud-Federal Program" (12.1%), "Fraud-Financial Institution" (10.1%), "Fraud-Tax" (8.9%), "Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated" (6.8%), "Fraud-Other Business" (5.1%), "Fraud-Advance Fee Schemes" (3.6%), "Fraud-Computer" (3.6%), "Fraud-Identity Theft-Other" (3.1%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for white collar crime prosecutions in September 2021 was FBI accounting for 26 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of white collar crime referrals were: HHS (11% ), IRS (10%), Postal (10%), SecServ (9%). See Figure 3.
White Collar Crime Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In September 2021, 53 defendants in white collar crime 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 September the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1343 involving "Fraud by wire, radio, or television". This was the lead charge for 34 percent of all magistrate filings in September.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "18 USC 1014 - Fraud - Loan and credit applications etc" (11.3%).
White Collar Crime Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In September 2021, 361 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during September there were an additional 24 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 white collar crime matters filed in U.S. District Court during September 2021.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 72 1 1 1 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 36 2 5 4 More 18 USC 1349 - Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy 36 2 3 3 More 18 USC 1347 - Health Care Fraud 34 4 4 7 More 18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 32 5 2 6 More 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 20 6 7 5 More 18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles 19 7 6 9 More 18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices 11 8 9 2 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 10 9 - 87 More 26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements 10 9 8 10 More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Fraud by wire, radio, or television" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1343) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Fraud by wire, radio, or television" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1343) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency were the lead charges "Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 and "Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1349. "Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 was ranked 5 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago."Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1349 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 80.5 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 that involves " Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 1100 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " Firearms; Unlawful acts " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 922 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 200 percent — was " " ( ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 70.9 percent — was for filings where the lead charge was " Fraud and related activity - access devices " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1029 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In September 2021 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 140.8 white collar crime prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of white collar crime 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 white collar crime prosecutions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago La, E 785 11 1 12 40 More La, M 720 5 2 63 82 More Fla, S 546 34 3 16 1 More Mich, E 465 25 4 4 8 More N. J. 459 34 5 1 13 More S Car 443 19 6 75 10 More N. Y., S 393 17 7 12 2 More Nebraska 372 6 8 67 65 More Penn, W 293 9 9 2 19 More Mo, E 287 7 10 15 4 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans) — with 785 prosecutions as compared with 140.8 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during September 2021.
The Middle District of Louisiana (Baton Rouge) ranked 2nd.
Southern District of Florida (Miami) is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans), now ranked 1st , and Southern District of New York (Manhattan) at 7th In the same order, these districts ranked 12th and 12th one year ago and 40th and 2nd five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of white collar crime prosecutions compared to one year ago — 1075 percent — was South Carolina . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 116.7 percent — was Middle District of Louisiana (Baton Rouge).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of white collar crime prosecutions — 55.6 percent — was Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans). But over the past five years, Southern District of New York (Manhattan) showed the largest drop — 71.2 percent.
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 white collar crime crime cases of this type during September 2021 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Goldsmith, Mark Allan Mich, E 11 1 More Swain, Laura Taylor N. Y., S 9 2 More Feldman, Martin Leach-Cross La, E 7 3 More King, James Lawrence Fla, S 6 4 More Young, Roderick C. Virg, E 6 4 More Shubb, William B. Cal, E 5 6 More Arleo, Madeline C. N. J. 5 6 More Wolfson, Freda L. N. J. 5 6 More Williams, Kathleen Mary Fla, S 4 9 More Bloom, Beth Francine Fla, S 4 9 More Reidinger, Martin Karl N Car, W 4 9 More Shipp, Michael A. N. J. 4 9 More Rakoff, Jed Saul N. Y., S 4 9 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 10 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of white collar crime filings per capita, while the remaining 3 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 13 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Mark Allan Goldsmith in the Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit) ranked 1st with 11 defendants in white collar crime cases.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain in the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) ranked 2nd with 9 defendants in white collar crime cases.
Judge Martin Leach-Cross Feldman in the Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans) ranked 3rd with 7 defendants in white collar crime cases.
Report Generated: October 26, 2021
