Official Corruption Prosecutions for November 2017
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during November 2017 the government reported 32 new official corruption prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 18.5 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 2017 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up (10.3%). 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 22.9 percent from levels reported in 2012.
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 November 2017 was for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Local", accounting for 25 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Other" (18.8%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Program" (18.8%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Other" (15.6%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Law Enforcement" (12.5%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Procurement" (6.3%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-State" (3.1%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for official corruption prosecutions in November 2017 was FBI accounting for 53 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of official corruption referrals were: Defense (16% ), HHS (6%), Justice Other (6%), Transport (6%). See Figure 3.
Official Corruption Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In November 2017, no 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.
Official Corruption Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In November 2017, 32 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during November 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 November.
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 November 2017.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 9 1 More 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 5 2 More 18 USC 287 - False, fictitious or fraudulent claims 4 3 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 4 3 More 18 USC 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses 2 5 More 18 USC 209 - Salary of Gov't officials/employees payable by US 2 5 More 18 USC 752 - Instigating or assisting escape 2 5 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 2 5 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 2 5 More 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 1 10 More 18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles 1 10 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 1 10 More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 371) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 666.
Ranked 3rd were "False, fictitious or fraudulent claims" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 287 and "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In November 2017 the Justice Department said the government brought 13.4 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 Cal, E 6 1 More Ga, N 5 2 More N Car, W 4 3 More N Mexico 4 3 More Fla, S 2 5 More N. Y., S 2 5 More Arizona 1 7 More D. C. 1 7 More Ill, S 1 7 More Ind, N 1 7 More Mich, E 1 7 More N. J. 1 7 More Nebraska 1 7 More Okla, N 1 7 More Penn, E 1 7 More S Car 1 7 More Vermont 1 7 More Virg, E 1 7 More Wisc, E 1 7 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts
The Eastern District of California (Sacramento) — with 6 prosecutions — was the most active during November 2017.
The Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) ranked 2nd.
Western District of North Carolina (Asheville) and District of New Mexico are 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 official corruption crime cases of this type during November 2017 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank England, Morrison C., Jr. Cal, E 5 1 More Whitney, Frank DeArmon N Car, W 4 2 More Browning, James O. N Mexico 4 2 More Cooke, Marcia G. Fla, S 2 4 More Batten, Timothy C., Sr. Ga, N 2 4 More Cohen, Mark Howard Ga, N 2 4 More Jorgenson, Cindy K. Arizona 1 7 More Mueller, Kimberly Jo Cal, E 1 7 More Howell, Beryl Alaine D. C. 1 7 More Jones, Steve CarMichael Ga, N 1 7 More Reagan, Michael Joseph Ill, S 1 7 More Van Bokkelen, Joseph S. Ind, N 1 7 More Cleland, Robert Hardy Mich, E 1 7 More Arleo, Madeline C. N. J. 1 7 More Rossiter, Robert F., Jr. Nebraska 1 7 More Dowdell, John Edward Okla, N 1 7 More Beetlestone, Wendy Penn, E 1 7 More Brinkema, Leonie M. Virg, E 1 7 More Griesbach, William C. Wisc, E 1 7 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 19 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 19 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. in the Eastern District of California (Sacramento) ranked 1st with 5 defendants in official corruption cases.
Judges Frank DeArmon Whitney in the Western District of North Carolina (Asheville) and James O. Browning in the District of New Mexico ranked 2nd with 4 defendants in official corruption cases.
Report Generated: January 8, 2018
