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FACT BRIEF

Is there more fraud in Nevada than any other state?

By Todd Butterworth
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NO

According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, in 2021, Nevada ranked 21st among U.S. states in the number of Suspicious Activity Reports filed by all industries. The top three states were California, New York and Texas. Smaller states with more reports than Nevada included Delaware, Utah and Alabama. An SAR is a document that financial institutions and associated businesses must file with FinCEN whenever there is suspected money laundering or fraud.

Looking only at the gaming industry, Nevada ranked first in SARs filed. Nevada’s gaming industry is the largest in the U.S., with more than double the revenue of the second largest market, Atlantic City. A separate report by Zippia found that Las Vegas had the 15th highest white-collar crime rate among U.S. cities.

According to a 2015 U.S. Department of the Treasury risk assessment, approximately $300 billion in illicit proceeds is generated nationally each year. Fraud and drug trafficking offenses generate most of this revenue. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
The Nevada Independent Suspicious Activity Report State Rankings
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network SAR stats
Zippia 20 Money laundering statistics [2022] facts about money laundering in the U.S.
Thomson Reuters What is a suspicious activity report?
US Treasury U.S. Department of the Treasury
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The Nevada Independent
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.