Federal prosecutions of financial fraud are at a 20-year low! That must mean financial fraud isn't happening, right?
A couple of caveats: (1) These sorts of prosecutions often have a lead time counted in years. Financial fraud cases are frighteningly complex, and difficult to prove in a way that judges and juries can understand. (2) They are dependent on manpower (see the previous point), and on career staff that may have been hired or appointed over time. (3) Note the precipitous decline under the Dubya administration.
So I could make a semi-plausible argument that the shallow decline under Obama is due to backlog, gutted departments manned by many Dubya admin hires, etc. I could, but I also don't have much if any confidence that this is any sort of priority at the current White House. #ddtb
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CHART: Federal Prosecution Of Financial Fraud Is At A 20-Year Low
The Huffington Post’s Alexander Eichler reports on a new study put out by a watchdog group that finds that federal prosecution of financial fraud has now reached a 20-year low. The report from the Tra…