Prosecutions for September 2018

Referring Agency: Social Security Administration

Number Latest Month 67
Percent Change from previous month -6.9
Percent Change from 1 year ago 34.8
Percent Change from 5 years ago
(Including Magistrate Court)
-21.6
Percent Change from 5 years ago
(Excluding Magistrate Court)
-19.9
Table 1. Criminal Prosecutions

The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during September 2018 the government reported 67 new prosecutions for these matters. Those cases were referred by the Social Security Administration. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 6.9 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 2018 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up (34.8%). 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 21.6 percent from levels reported in 2013.

Bar and line plot of FYMON

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 2018 was for "Fraud-Federal Program", accounting for 47.8 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Theft-Government Property" (16.4%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (16.4%), "Fraud-Other" (4.5%), "Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated" (3%), "Other Criminal Prosecutions" (3%). See Figure 2.

Pie chart of progcatlabel

Figure 2. Specific Types of Prosecutions

Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts

Top Ranked Lead Charges

In September 2018, 2 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.

In the magistrate courts in September the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 19 involving "Petty Offense Defined". This was the lead charge for 50 percent of all magistrate filings in September.

Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts

In September 2018, 65 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during September 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 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 2018 referred by the Social Security Administration.

Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago  
18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 31 1 1 1 More
42 USC 408 - Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties 12 2 2 2 More
18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 3 3 - - More
42 USC 1383a - Fraudulent acts; penalties; restitution 3 3 4 6 More
18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 2 5 5 6 More
18 USC 1028A - Aggravated Identity Theft 2 5 12 10 More
42 USC 1383 - Social Security -Procedure for payment of benefits 2 5 8 3 More
18 USC 111 - Assaulting, resisting, impeding certain officers 1 8 - - More
18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 1 8 12 4 More
21 USC 641 - Articles not meant for food/inedible articles 1 8 15 - More
Table 2. Top Charges Filed

  • "Public money, property or records" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 641) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Public money, property or records" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 641) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.

  • Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties" under Title 42 U.S.C Section 408. "Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties" under Title 42 U.S.C Section 408 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.

  • Ranked 3rd were "Bank Fraud" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1344 and "Fraudulent acts; penalties; restitution" under Title 42 U.S.C Section 1383. "Fraudulent acts; penalties; restitution" under Title 42 U.S.C Section 1383 was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 6 five years ago.

Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 150 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1028 that involves " Fraud and related activity - id documents ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 125 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " Fraud/false statements or entries generally " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1001 ).

Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 14.3 percent — was " Fraudulent acts; penalties; restitution " (Title 42 U.S.C Section 1383 ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease — 75 % — when compared with five years ago.

Top Ranked Judicial Districts

In September 2018 the Justice Department said the government brought 25.6 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  
Cal, E 5 1 More
Mo, E 5 1 More
Maryland 4 3 More
Texas, S 4 3 More
Cal, S 3 5 More
Mich, W 3 5 More
Miss, N 3 5 More
Miss, S 3 5 More
Oregon 3 5 More
S Dakota 3 5 More
W Virg, S 3 5 More
Table 3. Top 10 Districts

  • The Eastern District of California (Sacramento) and Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) — with 5 prosecutions — were the most active during September 2018.

  • District of Maryland and Southern District of Texas (Houston) 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 crime cases of this type during September 2018 are shown in Table 4.

Judge Count Rank  
Hollander, Ellen Lipton Maryland 4 1 More
Mueller, Kimberly Jo Cal, E 3 2 More
Maloney, Paul Lewis Mich, W 3 2 More
Sippel, Rodney W. Mo, E 3 2 More
Miller, Gray Hampton Texas, S 3 2 More
Starrett, Keith Miss, S 2 6 More
Bazis, Susan M. Nebraska 2 6 More
Schwab, Arthur J. Penn, W 2 6 More
Haikala, Madeline H. Ala, N 1 9 More
England, Morrison C., Jr. Cal, E 1 9 More
Mendez, John A. Cal, E 1 9 More
Davila, Edward John Cal, N 1 9 More
Miller, Jeffrey T. Cal, S 1 9 More
Hayes, William Q. Cal, S 1 9 More
Curiel, Gonzalo Paul Cal, S 1 9 More
Moore, Raymond Paul Colorado 1 9 More
Byron, Paul Gregory Fla, M 1 9 More
Kapala, Frederick J. Ill, N 1 9 More
Miller, Robert Lowell, Jr. Ind, N 1 9 More
Dick, Shelly Deckert La, M 1 9 More
Hornby, David Brock Maine 1 9 More
Davis, Michael James Minnesota 1 9 More
Wright, Wilhelmina Marie Minnesota 1 9 More
Autrey, Henry Edward Mo, E 1 9 More
White, Ronnie Lee Mo, E 1 9 More
Ketchmark, Roseann Ambrosia Mo, W 1 9 More
Mordue, Norman A. N. Y., N 1 9 More
Seibel, Cathy N. Y., S 1 9 More
Carter, Andrew L., Jr. N. Y., S 1 9 More
Brown, Anna J. Oregon 1 9 More
Hernandez, Marco Antonio Oregon 1 9 More
Simon, Michael Howard Oregon 1 9 More
Cerezo, Carmen Consuelo Puer Rico 1 9 More
McDonough, Travis Randall Tenn, E 1 9 More
Lipman, Sheryl Halle Tenn, W 1 9 More
Frost, E. Scott Texas, N 1 9 More
Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 1 9 More
Briones, David Texas, W 1 9 More
Reiss, Christina Clair Vermont 1 9 More
Chambers, Robert Charles W Virg, S 1 9 More
Peterson, James Donald Wisc, W 1 9 More
Table 4. Top Ten Judges

A total of 18 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of filings , while the remaining 23 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 41 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)

  • Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander in the District of Maryland ranked 1st with 4 defendants in cases.

  • Judges Kimberly Jo Mueller in the Eastern District of California (Sacramento), Paul Lewis Maloney in the Western District of Michigan (Grand Rapids), Rodney W. Sippel in the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) and Gray Hampton Miller in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 3 defendants in cases.

Report Generated: October 22, 2018
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