Southern District of Ohio · U.S. Attorney's Office

Federal Criminal Charges Surge Across Southern Ohio

Comparing FY2025 baseline charging activity against FY2026 caseloads across the Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton court divisions.

Federal Prosecution Caseloads and Divisional Shares Comparison of defendants charged in FY2025 versus FY2026 across Southern District of Ohio court divisions and their share of districtwide totals.
Scene 1 of 2 Caseload Expansion

Caseload Doubles Across Core Offense Categories

During fiscal year 2026 (Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026), federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Ohio charged a record volume of defendants with violent crime and firearms offenses, rising sharply from fiscal year 2025 baselines.

Districtwide violent-crime defendants increased by 92.7% (from 123 to 237 defendants), and firearms offenses under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) and 924(c) jumped 93.4% (from 122 to 236 defendants).

In the Columbus division, violent crime prosecutions rose 67.8% (59 to 99 defendants), firearms cases increased 62.7% (59 to 96 defendants), and white-collar fraud cases grew 68.4% (19 to 32 defendants).

Scene 2 of 2 Divisional Shares

Columbus Accounts for Largest Share of Defendants

Across all three Southern District of Ohio court divisions—Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton—the Columbus division generated the largest portion of charged defendants in fiscal year 2026.

Columbus accounted for 41.8% of violent-crime defendants (99 of 237) and 40.7% of weapons defendants (96 of 236).

In white-collar fraud prosecutions, Columbus represented more than half—53.3% (32 of 60 defendants)—of all defendants charged districtwide.