FBI Director Kash Patel faces new charges for allegedly manipulating arrest statistics to project an image of success during his tenure as head of the country's top investigative agency.

During a Senate hearing held this week, Patel bragged that the FBI almost doubled the number of arrests since he took office and said that the agency managed to capture eight of the ten fugi most wanted assets in the world in record time. However, current and former FBI agents maintain that those numbers are inflated through internal changes driven directly by their administration.

The information was revealed by the US media MS NOW, which cites multiple police officials familiar with the new internal policies of the FBI.

According to the cited media, the FBI began to count as “own arrests” detentions made by other federal agencies or local police departments, as long as there was the presence or support of federal agents during the operations.

FBI would have duplicated figures with immigration arrests

One of the highlighted examples involves immigration operations led by ICE agents in cities like Minneapolis and Memphis. According to According to sources consulted, thousands of migrant arrests were added to official FBI statistics, although the agency did not lead the cases.

“They are inflating the statistics and declaring arrests that they wouldn't have declared before,” said a current FBI official quoted in the report.

Another former official was even more direct: “Kash is manipulating things to inflate his statistics.”

FBI spokesman, Ben Williamson, rejected the accusations and assured that the criticisms seek to discredit the work of law enforcement .

Patel has used these numbers to defend himself against growing questions about his leadership and behavior within the agency. At the Senate hearing he avoided r respond directly to reports related to alleged excessive alcohol consumption, polygraph tests to agents and use of official resources for private travel.

Manipulation of the most wanted list

The report also points out that the FBI would have altered the historical list of the “Ten Most Wanted” to appear extraordinary results.

According to the investigation, several fugitives were added to the list just hours before being detained, which allowed Patel to boast quick and effective captures.

The most striking case was that of Samuel Ramírez Jr., accused of double homicide and detained in Culiacán, Mexico, just an hour after being officially added to the list.

“They are simply nominating people who are about to arrest,” said an FBI official quoted by the American media.

In addition to criticism for statistical manipulation, the FBI is going through a strong internal crisis. Data shared in the same media ican that the agency lost around 2,000 800 agents in the last year, a number much higher than the historical average of resignations.

Despite this, Patel defended his administration in front of the Senate and stated that “the mission has never been better”.