A steady decline in the prosecution of federal white collar crimes during the last 20 years has continued under the current presidential administration, according to a report by the Syracuse University Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).
Researchers analyzed thousands of case records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that the overall decline began during former President Bill Clinton's tenure. White collar crime includes cases ranging from health care fraud to violations of tax, securities, federal procurement and other laws.
Though there was a spike in 2010 and 2011, data indicates that for the full 2015 fiscal year such prosecutions will be at their lowest level since 1995. The government brought 5,173 white collar prosecutions during the first nine months of fiscal year 2015, and is on pace for 6,897 cases.
That total is “down by more than one third (36.8 percent) from levels seen two decades ago — despite the rise in population and economic activity in the nation during this period,” researchers wrote.
Read the full report HERE.
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