How many convictions for falsifying business records has there been in New York over the last 15 years?
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Executive summary
A definitive count of convictions for falsifying business records in New York over the last 15 years is not available in the reporting provided: sources supply sample case surveys and charge tallies but do not publish a statewide, 15‑year conviction total [1] [2] [3]. What the public reporting does document is heavy prosecutorial use of the statute — including nearly 9,800 felony arraignments since 2015 — and legal contours that make conversion of charges into convictions context‑dependent [3] [4].
1. What the record reports: charges and prosecutions, not a neat convictions tally
Public reporting surveyed here catalogs prosecutions and samples of cases rather than producing an authoritative, aggregated convictions database for the past 15 years; Just Security’s multi‑case survey compiles many felony prosecutions and highlights that first‑degree prosecutions are common [1] [2], and Law.com reported that New York courts had arraigned almost 9,800 felony charges for falsifying business records beginning in 2015 — a charge figure, not a conviction count [3].
2. Why charges ≠ convictions: legal mechanics and plea dynamics matter
Under New York law, falsifying business records exists in two degrees — a misdemeanor (second degree) and an elevated class E felony (first degree) when the falsification is intended to aid or conceal another crime — and that statutory structure means prosecutors often allege felonies where plea bargaining, acquittal on predicates, or reductions may follow, so raw charge numbers overstate final convictions unless one tracks dispositions county‑by‑county and case‑by‑case [5] [4] [6].
3. What sample surveys show about outcomes and prosecutorial patterns
Detailed case surveys—like Just Security’s table of district attorney prosecutions—show many individual convictions and plea outcomes across years and counties, illustrating prosecutorial willingness to deploy the first‑degree statute in diverse factual settings (retail return schemes, insurance fraud, unemployment fraud, and alleged concealment of other crimes) but those surveys are samples and descriptive analyses rather than an exhaustive, numerical accounting of convictions statewide for a fixed 15‑year span [1] [2].
4. The doctrinal wrinkle that affects conviction rates
Judicial interpretations broadened the statute’s reach by holding that “intent to defraud” need not mean a pecuniary loss — administrative interference or concealment of non‑monetary misconduct can suffice — which likely increased felony filings and complicated disposition patterns, because proving the predicate crime or the mens rea element remains case‑specific and influences jury verdicts, plea decisions, and dismissals [7].
5. Limits of available public reporting and what would be needed to answer cleanly
None of the provided sources delivers a statewide, 15‑year tabulation of final convictions; Law.com gives an arrest/arraignment aggregate since 2015 (nearly 9,800 felony charges) but does not report convictions, and Just Security’s work is a focused survey and case table rather than a complete disposition dataset [3] [2]. To generate a precise convictions number would require access to centralized disposition data (for example, court records or an official Office of Court Administration dataset) that the current reporting does not supply.
6. Bottom line for readers and researchers
The best supported factual claim in the reporting is that New York prosecutors have used the falsifying business records statute aggressively — with nearly 9,800 felony arraignments recorded since 2015 — but the exact number of convictions in the last 15 years cannot be determined from the provided sources; researchers seeking a definitive conviction count will have to consult statewide disposition records or formal court databases not included in this reporting [3] [1].