Modest Increase in US Official Corruption Convictions in 2023
Washington-The latest fiscal yearend data from the Justice Department show that during FY 2023 the federal government reported 334 new official corruption convictions. This number is up 2.5 percent over the previous fiscal year when convictions totaled 326.
According to these government records, the single largest number of convictions during FY 2023 were of local government officials for official corruption offenses. These accounted for about one in four (24%) of these convictions or 80. In comparison convictions of state officials for these types of crimes were half that number – about one in eight of these convictions or 41.
For corruption involving federal matters, there were 44 convictions for official corruption involving federal law enforcement officials. Among others where federal prosecutors provided specific labels were official corruption for federal procurement (30) and federal programs (26).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was credited as the lead investigative agency in six out of ten or 200 of these cases. Official corruption cases often take years to develop even after a referral is received from an investigative agency. Defendants convicted during FY 2023 had been referred to federal prosecutors on average 1,062 days before their eventual conviction and sentencing – or some three years earlier.
The nation’s capital generally leads the nation in the per capita rate of convictions for official corruption with 25 times the national rate in FY 2023. However, in terms of number of convictions, it didn’t rank first; the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) had more individuals convicted compared to D.C. during FY 2023.
Alaska was in second place with seven times the national rate. The Southern District of Mississippi (Jackson) and the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) were tied for third place with five times the national rate, while Hawaii and North Dakota tied for fifth place, each with four times the national rate.
These results are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC after successful litigation under the Freedom of Information Act.
