Official Corruption Convictions for October 2024
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during October 2024 the government reported 36 new official corruption convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 5.3 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted for 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 2024 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was only slightly down (-0.5%). Convictions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are down 19.1 percent from levels reported in 2019.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Official Corruption Convictions
The decrease from the levels five years ago in official corruption convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of official corruption convictions 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 convictions of these matters in October 2024 was for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Local", accounting for 41.7 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Other" (16.7%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Other" (13.9%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Procurement" (11.1%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-State" (8.3%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Program" (5.6%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Law Enforcement" (2.8%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for official corruption convictions in October 2024 was FBI accounting for 36 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of official corruption convictions were: USAO (19% ), Postal (8%), Agri (6%), Defense (6%). See Figure 3.
Official Corruption Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In October 2024, 1 defendants in official corruption cases for these matters were convicted 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 October the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 208 involving "Acts affecting a personal financial interest". This was the lead charge for 100 percent of all magistrate convictions in October.
Official Corruption Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In October 2024, 35 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during October there were an additional 0 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 October.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of official corruption matters filed in U.S. District Court during October 2024.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 13 1 More 18 USC 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses 3 2 More 18 USC 1349 - Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy 3 2 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 2 4 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 2 4 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 2 4 More 18 USC 208 - Acts affecting a personal financial interest 1 7 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 1 7 More 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 1 7 More 18 USC 654 - Officer or employee of US converting property 1 7 More 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 1 7 More 18 USC 1028A - Aggravated Identity Theft 1 7 More 18 USC 1703 - Delay or destruction of mail or newspapers 1 7 More 18 USC 1709 - Theft of mail matter by officer or employee 1 7 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 1 7 More 26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements 1 7 More Table 2. Top Charges for Convictions
"Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 666) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency were the lead charges "Bribery of public officials and witnesses" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 201 and "Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1349.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In October 2024 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government obtained 12.5 official corruption convictions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of official corruption convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.
Judicial District Count Rank N. Y., S 9 1 More D. C. 3 2 More Fla, M 2 3 More Ind, N 2 3 More Mich, E 2 3 More Texas, W 2 3 More Virg, W 2 3 More Ala, M 1 8 More Cal, E 1 8 More Conn 1 8 More Fla, S 1 8 More Ill, C 1 8 More Maryland 1 8 More Miss, N 1 8 More Mo, E 1 8 More Mo, W 1 8 More N Mexico 1 8 More Penn, M 1 8 More Penn, W 1 8 More Wisc, E 1 8 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts
The Southern District of New York (Manhattan) — with 9 convictions — was the most active during October 2024.
The District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) ranked 2nd.
Middle District of Florida (Tampa), Northern District of Indiana (South Bend), Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit), Western District of Texas (San Antonio) and Western District of Virginia (Roanoke) 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 resulting in convictions of this type during October 2024 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Chutkan, Tanya Sue D. C. 3 1 More Goldsmith, Mark Allan Mich, E 2 2 More Garcia, Orlando Luis Texas, W 2 2 More Moon, Norman K. Virg, W 2 2 More Marks, Emily Coody Ala, M 1 5 More Thurston, Jennifer L. Cal, E 1 5 More Underhill, Stefan R. Conn 1 5 More Dalton, Roy Bale, Jr. Fla, M 1 5 More Barber, Thomas Patrick Fla, M 1 5 More Chuang, Theodore David Maryland 1 5 More Aycock, Sharion Miss, N 1 5 More Sippel, Rodney W. Mo, E 1 5 More Johnson, William Paul N Mexico 1 5 More Buchwald, Naomi Reice N. Y., S 1 5 More Cote, Denise L. N. Y., S 1 5 More Wood, Kimba Maureen N. Y., S 1 5 More Netburn, Sarah N. Y., S 1 5 More Failla, Katherine Polk N. Y., S 1 5 More Broderick, Vernon Speede N. Y., S 1 5 More Saporito, Joseph F., Jr. Penn, M 1 5 More Hornak, Mark Raymond Penn, W 1 5 More Stadtmueller, Joseph Peter Wisc, E 1 5 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 22 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of official corruption convictions. (Because of ties, there were a total of 22 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Tanya Sue Chutkan in the District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) ranked 1st with 3 convicted in official corruption convictions.
Judges Mark Allan Goldsmith in the Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit), Orlando Luis Garcia in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) and Norman K. Moon in the Western District of Virginia (Roanoke) ranked 2nd with 2 convicted in official corruption convictions.
Report Generated: December 17, 2024
