The FBI is the lead investigative agency in many of these investigations. Thus, this decline is likely to grow even larger given a series of recent federal moves impacting cuts to the FBI and directing how FBI agents should spend their time. News coverage reports: “white-collar cases...will be deprioritized for at least the remaining of 2025.” Going forward, “FBI agents were told by their field offices they would need to start devoting about one-third of their time to helping the Trump administration crack down on illegal immigration.”

U.S. Attorney offices filed 4,332 prosecutions for white-collar crimes in FY 2024, less than half of the 10,269 prosecutions filed in FY 1994 three decades earlier. And FY 2025 is projected to fall even further to just 3,862. All prosecution rates except for immigration dropped substantially in the first half of FY 2025. In addition, compared with other program categories, prosecutors file prosecutions on criminal referrals at lower rates for white-collar offenses than almost all other program categories.

Most crimes the Department of Justice (DOJ) classifies as white-collar crime cover a wide range of frauds. These include corporate and consumer frauds, bankruptcy fraud, federal program fraud, financial institution fraud, health care fraud, tax fraud, identity theft, security fraud and many others. Antitrust crimes are also included in this category.

Prosecution numbers from FY 1986 through the first half of FY 2025 show that increases versus declines in white-collar enforcement haven’t followed strictly partisan lines. It is the case that peak years of enforcement activity occurred first during President Clinton and then again under President Obama.

Six categories of fraud had the most convictions over the last 40 years. Only one (1) percent were filed against businesses and corporations while 99 percent were filed against individuals. Topping the list was Financial Institution frauds. Tax and Federal Program frauds were the next two largest components. Business fraud which cannot be classified under other programs was the fourth largest category. Health Care frauds and Identity Theft were in fifth and sixth place.

This report is based on case-by-case records from the DOJ ordered released each month to TRAC after successful lengthy litigation under the Freedom of Information Act. Previous TRAC reports based on these data have covered the long-term decrease in white-collar prosecutions, even as court enforcement for immigration and drug offenses had increased. TRAC now publishes a Quick Facts summary of the latest key findings on federal white-collar enforcement each month.

TRAC’s full report contains charts and accompanying text providing an in depth examination of federal white-collar enforcement over the last 40 years. TRACfed’s subscription services provides users with access to these data.