Prosecutions for March 2026
Referring Agency: Internal Revenue Service
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during March 2026 the government reported 54 new prosecutions for these matters. Those cases were referred by the Internal Revenue Service. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 8.5 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 2026 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was only slightly down (-0.7%). 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 13.9 percent from levels reported in 2021.
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 March 2026 was for "Fraud-Tax", accounting for 63 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (14.8%), "Drugs-Drug Trafficking" (5.6%), "Fraud-Other" (5.6%). See Figure 2.
Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In March 2026, 5 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 March the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 21 U.S.C Section 841 involving "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A". This was the lead charge for 60 percent of all magistrate filings in March.
Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In March 2026, 49 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during March 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 March.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during March 2026 referred by the Internal Revenue Service.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements 21 1 1 2 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 4 2 5 6 More 18 USC 287 - False, fictitious or fraudulent claims 3 3 12 14 More 26 USC 7202 - Willful failure to collect or pay over tax 3 3 4 4 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 2 5 2 3 More 26 USC 7201 - Attempt to evade or defeat tax 2 5 3 1 More 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 1 7 15 22 More 18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 1 7 6 7 More 18 USC 1349 - Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy 1 7 8 9 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 1 7 15 22 More 26 USC 7203 - Willful failure to file return, supply information 1 7 15 9 More State or Territory Provision 1 7 - - More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Fraud and False statements" (Title 26 U.S.C Section 7206) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Fraud and False statements" (Title 26 U.S.C Section 7206) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 371. "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 6 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd were "False, fictitious or fraudulent claims" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 287 and "Willful failure to collect or pay over tax" under Title 26 U.S.C Section 7202. "Willful failure to collect or pay over tax" under Title 26 U.S.C Section 7202 was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 700 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1028 that involves " Fraud and related activity - id documents ". This was the same statute that had the largest increase — 700 % — when compared with five years ago.
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 48.8 percent — was " Attempt to evade or defeat tax " (Title 26 U.S.C Section 7201 ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease — 66.2 % — when compared with five years ago.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In March 2026 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 17.3 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.
The District of Nevada, Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati) and Eastern District of Tennessee (Knoxville) — with 3 prosecutions — were the most active during March 2026.
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 March 2026 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Newman, Michael J. Ohio, S 2 1 More Barker, J. Campbell Texas, E 2 1 More Brown, Ada Elene Texas, N 2 1 More Brnovich, Susan Marie Arizona 1 4 More Huff, Marilyn L. Cal, S 1 4 More Candelaria, James Colorado 1 4 More Underhill, Stefan R. Conn 1 4 More Gayles, Darrin Phillip Fla, S 1 4 More Lefkow, Joan Humphrey Ill, N 1 4 More Brookman, Matthew P. Ind, S 1 4 More Stearns, Richard Gaylore Mass 1 4 More Boal, Jennifer C. Mass 1 4 More Lawson, David M. Mich, E 1 4 More Tunheim, John R. Minnesota 1 4 More Welte, Peter David N Dakota 1 4 More Irizarry, Dora L. N. Y., E 1 4 More Graham, James L. Ohio, S 1 4 More Mariani, Robert David Penn, M 1 4 More Parker, Thomas Lee Robinson Tenn, W 1 4 More Novak, David John Virg, E 1 4 More Johnston, Thomas E. W Virg, S 1 4 More Adelman, Lynn S. Wisc, E 1 4 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 9 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of filings , while the remaining 13 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 22 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judges Michael J. Newman in the Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati), J. Campbell Barker in the Eastern District of Texas (Tyler) and Ada Elene Brown in the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth) ranked 1st with 2 defendants in cases.
Report Generated: May 21, 2026
