Government Regulatory Prosecutions for March 2026
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during March 2026 the government reported 219 new government regulatory prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 140.7 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with government regulatory-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 2026 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up (28.8%). Prosecutions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are up 54.9 percent from levels reported in 2021.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Government Regulatory Prosecutions
The increase from the levels five years ago in government regulatory prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of government regulatory 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 government regulatory, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within government regulatory are
Counterfeiting and Forgery
Customs Violations - Duty
Customs Violations - Currency
Energy Pricing and Related Fraud
Health and Safety Violations - Employees
Health and Safety Violations - General Public
Copyright Violations
Trafficking in Contraband Cigarettes
Energy Violations - Nuclear Waste Issues
Money Laundering/Structuring (Narcotics)
Money Laundering/Structuring (Other)
Export Enforcement General
Other Government Regulatory Offenses
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in March 2026 was for "Other-Regulatory Offenses", accounting for 84 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Money Laundering-Other" (7.3%), "Export Enforcement General" (2.7%), "Money Laundering-Drug" (2.3%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for government regulatory prosecutions in March 2026 was Interior accounting for 79 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of government regulatory referrals were: FBI (8% ), DHS (5%), Treas. Other (4%), HHS (1%). See Figure 3.
Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In March 2026, 187 defendants in government regulatory 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 March the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 36 U.S.C Section . involving "Speeding". This was the lead charge for 37.4 percent of all magistrate filings in March.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "36 CFR 261.54d - Operate vehicle violation state law" (20.9%), "36 CFR 1004.23a1 - Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol" (12.8%).
Government Regulatory Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In March 2026, 32 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during March there were an additional 12 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 March.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of government regulatory matters filed in U.S. District Court during March 2026.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 10 1 More 18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 9 2 More 18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States 5 3 More 31 USC 5332 - Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States 4 4 More 50 USC 4819 - Export controls - penalties 4 4 More 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1 6 More 12 USC 1956 - Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements 1 6 More 18 USC 471 - Obligations or securities of United States 1 6 More 18 USC 501 - Postage stamps, meter stamps, and cards 1 6 More 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 1 6 More 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents 1 6 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 1 6 More 18 USC 1912 - Unauthorized fees for inspection of vessels 1 6 More 18 USC 1952 - Racketeering -interstate/foreign travel/transport 1 6 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 1 6 More 22 USC 2778 - Control of arms exports and imports 1 6 More 43 USC 1733 - Federal Land Policy/Management - Enforcement Authority 1 6 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.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Laundering of monetary instruments" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1956.
Ranked 3rd was "Smuggling goods from the United States" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 554.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In March 2026 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 15.5 government regulatory prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of government regulatory 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 Texas, S 12 1 More Cal, N 6 2 More D. C. 5 3 More N. Y., E 4 4 More Puer Rico 3 5 More Arizona 2 6 More Fla, N 2 6 More Ark, W 1 8 More Cal, C 1 8 More Fla, S 1 8 More Idaho 1 8 More Ind, S 1 8 More Miss, S 1 8 More N. Y., S 1 8 More Okla, N 1 8 More S Car 1 8 More Texas, N 1 8 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts
The Southern District of Texas (Houston) — with 12 prosecutions — was the most active during March 2026.
The Northern District of California (San Francisco) ranked 2nd.
District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) is 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 government regulatory crime cases of this type during March 2026 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Rodriguez, Fernando, Jr. Texas, S 4 1 More Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 3 2 More Wetherell, T. Kent, II Fla, N 2 3 More Crane, Randy Texas, S 2 3 More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 2 3 More Metcalf, James F. Arizona 1 6 More Walter, Donald Ellsworth Cal, C 1 6 More Sullivan, Emmet G. D. C. 1 6 More Cooper, Christopher Reid D. C. 1 6 More Becerra, Jacqueline Fla, S 1 6 More Young, Richard L. Ind, S 1 6 More Amon, Carol Bagley N. Y., E 1 6 More Godbey, David C. Texas, N 1 6 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 13 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of government regulatory filings. (Because of ties, there were a total of 13 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st with 4 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Judge Andrew S. Hanen in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 3 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Judges T. Kent Wetherell, II in the Northern District of Florida (Pensacola), Randy Crane in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) and Jose Rolando Olvera, Jr. in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 3rd with 2 defendants in government regulatory cases.
Report Generated: May 21, 2026
