A federal crime or federal offense, in the United States, is an illegal act. What makes it a federal crime, however, is the act was deemed illegal by the U.S. federal legislation. Prosecution and criminal law happen at both the state and federal levels in the United States. So, it naturally makes sense that a “federal crime” instead of being prosecuted at the state level, would be prosecuted under federal criminal law.

 

This does include numerous acts that, if they didn’t happen on an Indian reservation, on U.S. federal property, or weren’t explicitly penalized, would usually not be considered crimes or be under state or local law. Title 18 of the United States Code which is the federal criminal & penal code, lists certain crimes, but some crimes may be under other titles. Some examples would be possession of banned weapons by the National Firearms Act or tax evasion. These acts have been criminalized according to Title 26 of the United States Code.

 

Below are a few federal agencies that have the power to examine federal crimes:

IRS, FBI, DEA, ICE, ATF, and also the Secret Service.

 

Below are several examples of federal crimes:

 

• Mail Fraud (When this type of fraud engages the United States Postal Service or crosses state lines, it is then considered a federal offense.)

• Aircraft hijacking

• Kidnapping

• Bank Robbery

• Child Pornography

• Tax Evasion

• Counterfeiting

• Museum art theft

• Destruction of a public mailbox

• Immigration wrongdoings

• Assassination of a U.S. President of Vice President. (This was not considered a federal crime until the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

 

With regards to federal drug-related crimes, federally regulated minimum sentences could be applied for some drug offenses. These are called mandatory minimums.

 

The United States Attorney is responsible for establishing prosecution guidelines in all federal judicial districts. Prosecution guidelines are also created by the laws established by the United States Congress.