I. FEDERAL PROSECUTION JURISDICTION

B. Crimes

Often, federal cases either fall into the categories of large white-collar crimes (frauds) or large drug-trafficking cases. Most federal criminal cases are prosecuted under Title 18 of the United States Code (which contains most of the crimes with federal jurisdiction other than drug cases), or under Title 21 of the United States Code (the controlled substances statutes [“drug” statutes]).

Title 21 contains the criminal statutes against drug possession, drug trafficking, and drug manufacture. Title 21, United States Code, also contains statutes prohibiting activities such as maintaining a house where controlled substances are kept or sold, and using a communication facility or device to further a Title 21 drug crime.

Other federal crimes are dispersed throughout Title 18, and there are many different types of federal crimes, but these cases are not as frequently prosecuted as fraud cases, or significant drug cases. Examples of these other federal crimes are extortion, bribery, public corruption, counterfeit currency cases, and immigration law violations.
Other cases for which federal Indictments are returned are tax cases, such as tax evasion and failure to file taxes. Federal criminal tax violations are found in Title 26 of the United States Code. Also, occasionally, securities fraud cases are prosecuted, which are violations of securities fraud statutes in Title 15 of the United States Code.

(II A. Federal Investigations - Targets & Subjects)

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