Study reveals most sentenced federal crimes in Texas

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A new study offers an illustration of the most sentenced federal crimes in the state of Texas, and others.

The Criminal Defense Firm is listing immigration as the most sentenced federal crime, and by a significant margin. The organization analyzed data from the United States Sentencing Commission for the fiscal year 2022 to determine the categories of crimes for which each state receives the most sentences.

The categories of crime that have the highest sentencing rates per 100,000 in Texas are:

1. Immigration – comes in as the most sentenced crime with a rate of 32.74 federal sentences per 100,000. Immigration crime relates to the illegal entry of the United States by a foreign national or committing a felony offense as an immigrant to the United States.
2. Drug Trafficking – is the second most sentenced crime with a rate of 9.94 federal sentences per 100,000. Drug trafficking crimes involve knowingly manufacturing, dispensing, or distributing controlled substances or counterfeit controlled substances meant to be passed off as the real thing.
3. Firearms – comes in third with a rate of 3.39 federal sentences per 100,000. Firearms offenses are committed when a defendant illegally possesses or uses a firearm.
4. Fraud/ Theft/ Embezzlement – with a rate of 1.99 federal sentences per 100,000. Fraud is when any deception or misrepresentation is used to benefit someone, theft is the unlawful taking of someone else’s property, and embezzlement is theft while in a position of trust over the stolen funds or items.
5. Money Laundering – with a rate of 0.57 federal sentences per 100,000. Money Laundering is when criminal organizations conduct financial transactions to disguise the proceeds, sources, or nature of their illegal activities.

Speaking on behalf of Criminal Defense, a spokesperson commented on the study’s findings: “It is interesting to see which categories of crime receive the most federal sentences in each state, and it is even more fascinating to see some states having the highest rates in multiple categories. At a state level, it is vital that the right resources are utilized to discover how each state can be supported in improving how frequently they have to hand out these sentences.”

Criminal Defense are defense lawyers specializing in providing legal defense in criminal cases exclusively through experienced attorneys, many of whom have previous experience in senior roles in the Department of Justice.