FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE EOUSA MONDAY, MARCH 17, 1997 (202) 616-2771 TDD (202) 514-1888 FY96 U.S. ATTORNEYS' REPORT SHOWS PROSECUTORS COMPLETED MORE CASES AGAINST MORE CRIMINALS, RESULTING IN HIGHER CONVICTION RATE WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department's 94 U.S. Attorneys' offices completed more cases against more criminals in the most recent fiscal year than in 1995, and also increased their conviction rate against violent criminals, drug traffickers and other criminals. The statistics were released today by the Justice Department's Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys in its Annual Statistical Report for Fiscal Year 1996. The report summarizes the criminal prosecution and civil litigation work of the 94 United States Attorneys' offices around the country, which investigate and prosecute those who violate our nation's laws and represent the interests of the United States people in civil cases filed by or against the government. "Our efforts are paying off, in large part because U.S. Attorneys' offices are working so closely with their partners in state and local law enforcement," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "This report shows that teamwork and determination can make our country safer from lawbreakers." The increase in case filings stemmed in part from increased efforts around the country to fight drug trafficking, immigration offenses, health care fraud and interstate theft. The following represents highlights of the work and achievements of the U.S. Attorneys' offices: * CRIMINAL PROSECUTION During FY 1996, the U.S. Attorneys' offices filed 38,250 criminal cases charging 58,141 defendants with criminal offenses. This represents a four percent increase in cases filed when compared to FY 1995. For the second year in a row, criminal case filings grew by more than three percent over the prior year. Also during FY 1996, the offices completed 34,882 criminal cases against 52,366 defendants--a six percent increase over the previous year. Of the defendants whose cases were completed, 87 percent were convicted. This is a two percent increase over the previous year. Of those convicted, 73 percent received prison sentences, with 268 defendants sentenced to life in prison. The report reveals that U.S. Attorneys' offices handle a more diverse criminal caseload than ever before. Cases include violent crime and international and domestic terrorism; drug trafficking and organized crime drug enforcement; financial fraud, computer fraud, and environmental crime; public corruption and organized crime; and cases involving multiple defendants and international organizations. Specific criminal prosecution highlights: * Violent Crime The U.S. Attorneys continued to prosecute the most violent criminal offenders under the Attorney General's Anti-Violent Crime Initiative. Reflecting the decrease in recorded violent crimes across the country for the fourth straight year, the offices filed 6,178 cases against 8,291 violent offenders during FY 1996. This is an eight percent decrease in the number of cases filed and a 10 percent decrease in the number of defendants filed compared to FY 1995. (Methodological Note: To avoid double counting, the report puts drug cases that also include a violent crime charge only in the violent crime category. Were these drug-violence cases to be included as drug cases instead, and compared to FY95 numbers that are similarly adjusted, than the number of cases filed and the number of defendants charged for violent crimes would each decrease only five percent.) The offices also completed 6,124 cases against 8,197 violent crime defendants, with 86 percent of the defendants convicted. Eighty-nine percent of the convicted defendants received prison sentences, with 102 sentenced to life in prison. Violent crime cases include those brought against members of violent street gangs and firearms offenders, violent Indian crime, and cases brought under "Three Strikes and You're Out," the Violence Against Women Act, the Assault Weapons Ban, and the Youth Handgun Safety Act. * Drugs The U.S. Attorneys' drug strategy is to target and prosecute significant drug traffickers and structured drug organizations. The offices filed 10,487 cases against 21,505 drug defendants during FY 1996. This represents a three percent increase in cases filed and a two percent increase in defendants filed when compared to the previous year. (Methodological Note: To avoid double counting, the report puts drug cases that also include a violent crime charge only in the violent crime category. Were these drug-violence cases to be included as drug cases instead, and compared to FY95 numbers that are similarly adjusted, than the number of drug cases filed would increase one percent and the number of defendants charged for drug offenses crimes would remain almost the same.) These FY 1996 cases represented 27 percent of all criminal cases filed during the year. Of the 19,145 drug defendants whose cases were completed during the year, 86 percent were convicted--an increase of one percent over last year. Eighty-eight percent of all convicted defendants were sentenced to prison, with 150 defendants sentenced to life. * Immigration The U.S. Attorneys' offices, along with other Department components, continued to work to secure the borders of the U.S. The number of immigration cases has increased substantially, including cases brought for alien smuggling and attempted reentry of aliens previously convicted of felonies and deported. In all, the offices filed 5,754 immigration cases against 6,357 defendants--a 42 percent increase in the number of cases filed and a 37 percent increase in the number of defendants filed when compared to FY 1995. Of the 5,781 defendants whose cases were completed, 96 percent were convicted--a conviction rate increase of 2.5 percent over the previous year. Of those convicted, 77 percent were sentenced to prison. * Health Care Fraud Health care fraud remains a priority of the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorneys. Fraudulent health care activities include double billing schemes, billing for unnecessary or unperformed medical tests, or may be related to the quality of the medical care provided. Cases filed and cases completed continue to increase. During FY 1996, the U.S. Attorneys filed 245 health care fraud cases against 449 defendants--a seven percent increase in cases filed and an 18 percent increase in defendants filed compared to last year. Of the 348 defendants whose cases were completed during the year, 88 percent were convicted. Fifty percent of the convicted defendants were sentenced to prison--an increase of five percent over the previous year. * CIVIL LITIGATION The U.S. Attorneys' offices initiate civil lawsuits to assert or protect the interests of the government. They also defend the interests of the government in lawsuits filed against the U.S. During FY 1996, the U.S. Attorneys' offices filed or responded to a total of 87,917 civil cases, representing a six percent increase in cases when compared to the prior year. During the same time, the offices completed 86,314 civil cases- -an increase of three percent over the prior year. The courts issued judgments in 20,200 of these cases, with 84 percent of these judgments in favor of the United States. An additional 30 percent of the cases were settled--a nine percent increase over FY 1995. * Affirmative Civil Enforcement Affirmative civil enforcement is important as a powerful legal tool to help ensure that federal funds are recovered, that federal laws are obeyed, and that violators provide compensation to the government for losses and damages they cause as a result of waste fraud and abuse of government funds and resources. Among the civil enforcement actions filed by the U.S. Attorneys are those brought under the False Claims Act, the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, civil enforcement of controlled substance violations, RICO, defense procurement fraud actions, and health care fraud enforcement. The U.S. Attorneys' affirmative civil enforcement initiative resulted in the government collecting $546.6 million in FY 1996. * Debt Collection In FY96 more than $1.4 billion in civil and criminal debts, including those paid to other agencies and the courts, was collected due, in part, to work by the U.S. Attorneys' offices. In addition, the offices recovered property valued at $181.7 million, for a total of $1.6 billion collected in FY 1996. In FY 1995, $1.2 billion was collected. If estimated recoveries for asset forfeiture were added to the FY 1996 total, the amount collected would increase to more than $2 billion. The United States Attorneys, Presidentially appointed to serve as chief law enforcement officers in the 94 federal judicial districts, are charged with carrying out prosecution and litigation responsibilities within their districts. Although there are 94 federal judicial districts, there are only 93 U.S. Attorneys because one U.S. Attorney is appointed to serve both the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The 93 U.S. Attorneys direct and supervise the work of approximately 4,453 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 5,054 support personnel. At the end of FY 1996, the U.S. Attorney system nationwide consisted of 94 headquarters offices and 117 staffed branch offices. ### 97-113