18 U.S.C. 1040, Fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Dismissals ended 59 of the 153 federal cases (39%) in which 18 U.S.C. 1040 was the most serious charge at the end of the case, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Another 91 (59%) pleaded guilty and 3 (2%) went to trial. Of the 93 people convicted, 84 (90%) received a prison term on that charge, with a me
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In brief: Dismissals ended 59 of the 153 federal cases (39%) in which 18 U.S.C. 1040 was the most serious charge at the end of the case, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Another 91 (59%) pleaded guilty and 3 (2%) went to trial. Of the 93 people convicted, 84 (90%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 13 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 153 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
A High Share of Dismissals
The charges were dismissed for 59 defendants. Guilty pleas resolved 91 cases. Only 3 cases went to trial.
In this data, dismissed means the charges were dismissed. That can include a dismissal on the government's motion, for example once the defendant pleaded guilty in a separate case. The records do not say which kind each dismissal was.
Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023
Most of the cases ended in 2 years. Fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023 each had 38 cases. No other year had more than 16.
Dismissals were common in both of those years: 53% in fiscal year 2022 and 61% in fiscal year 2023. In fiscal year 2020, by contrast, all 9 cases ended in a guilty plea. The records do not explain why the counts or rates changed from year to year.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | 6 of 9 | 3 of 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 6 | 4 of 6 | 2 of 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 6 | 5 of 6 | 0 of 6 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2019 | 15 | 87% | 7% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2020 | 9 | 9 of 9 | 0 of 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 16 | 63% | 38% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 38 | 47% | 53% | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 38 | 39% | 61% | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 4 of 7 | 3 of 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 7 of 9 | 1 of 9 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
The Heading of Section 1040
Title 18, section 1040 of the U.S. Code is headed "Fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits". The statute is described here only by that heading.
The charge was a felony for all 153 defendants. No Class A misdemeanor or petty offense under this section is recorded.
Convictions and Prison Terms
Of the 153 defendants, 93 (61%) were convicted by plea or at trial. A prison term on this charge was ordered for 84 of the 93.
The median term was 13 months among those with a term of 1 month or more. It counts only the sentence on this charge.
The 3 trials were all jury trials. 1 of the 3 ended in an acquittal. That count is too small to support an acquittal rate.
Federal Defenders, Appointed Lawyers, and Retained Counsel
Federal public or community defenders represented 69 defendants (45%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 41 (27%). Private (retained) counsel represented 40 (26%).
The dismissal share was 49% for CJA panel attorney cases, 39% for federal defender cases, and 23% for retained counsel. Guilty pleas ran in the other direction: 51%, 58%, and 75%. Federal defenders had 2 trials with no acquittal, and retained counsel had 1 trial, which ended in an acquittal.
These figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Type of counsel is recorded at the end of the case. Those who hire a lawyer and those who are appointed one face different charges and circumstances.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 69 | 58% | 39% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| CJA panel attorney | 41 | 51% | 49% | 0 | 0 |
| Private (retained) counsel | 40 | 75% | 23% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
What the Records Leave Out
There is no close court-martial counterpart for this statute in the approved crosswalk, so only federal numbers are reported. The records do not describe the benefits involved, the amounts, or the reasons charges were dismissed.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 18 U.S.C. 1040, any subsection (153), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- 18 U.S.C. 1035, False statements relating to health care matters: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1038, False information and hoaxes: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1071, Concealing person from arrest: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1111, Murder: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.