White collar crime is down

Or, is it simply that the number of federal prosecution of white collar criminals is at its lowest level in the last twenty years? It is down by more than one third (36.8%) from levels seen two decades ago but the population is up.

There are differences in the popularity of certain crimes. Twenty years ago, mail fraud was the most frequent lead charge. Ten years ago it was bank fraud  Five years it was aggravated identity theft. Currently, fraud by wire, radio or television tops the list of lead charges.