> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-central-district-of-california/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:36:44.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:36:44.000Z - Description: Of 2,512 people sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in the Central District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,971 (78%) received a prison term and 372 (15%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months. Restitution was ordered for 1,836 people (73%). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-california/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Central District of California **In brief:** Of 2,512 people sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in the Central District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,971 (78%) received a prison term and 372 (15%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months. Restitution was ordered for 1,836 people (73%). Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 2,512 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Prison, Probation, and the Median Term The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 2,512 people in this offense type. Prison was imposed on 1,971 (78%), and probation only, with no prison or other confinement, on 372 (15%). Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 24 months, or 2 years. A quarter received 42 months or more, and a quarter received 9 months or less. For all 94 districts together, 73% of 58,502 people were sent to prison, and the median was 20 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months. ## Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release Restitution is money ordered to be paid to victims. It was ordered for 1,836 people (73%). A fine was ordered for 172 (7%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,919 people (76%), with a median term of 36 months. One person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. ## How Cases Ended: Pleas and Trials Guilty pleas accounted for 2,379 of 2,512 cases (95%), and 133 people were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 96% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 95%. The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea and 37 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 123 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 348 of the 2,474 people with that information recorded (14%). ## Position Against the Guideline Range Of 2,494 people with the information, 36% (889) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 32% (802) were below it without a government request, and 30% (750) were below it at the government's request. Above the range were 2% (53). The within-range share was 45% for this offense type in all districts and 29% for all offenses in this district. The share here was lower than the all-district share and higher than the district's all-offense share. ## Which Guidelines Were Used The category is the Commission's own grouping. The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 2,369 people. Others were §2B1.4 (Insider Trading) with 7, §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources) with 2, and §2F1.1, which the sheet lists as deleted, with 4. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases were 25% of the 9,958 people sentenced in the district. On criminal history, 55% were in the lowest category and 15% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Counts by Fiscal Year The district sentenced 1,211 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,301 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. The table shows 304 people in 2016 and 181 in 2025\. Yearly medians range from 18 months to 27 months. The records show these numbers but not what caused any change in them. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 304 | 24 months | 93% | | 2017 | 291 | 21 months | 95% | | 2018 | 308 | 24 months | 95% | | 2019 | 308 | 27 months | 94% | | 2020 | 245 | 24 months | 96% | | 2021 | 219 | 18 months | 98% | | 2022 | 248 | 18 months | 93% | | 2023 | 212 | 21 months | 96% | | 2024 | 196 | 24 months | 94% | | 2025 | 181 | 24 months | 92% | ## What the Records Cannot Show Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The dollar loss in each case is not part of these figures. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. These numbers describe federal cases only. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California Central") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (2,512). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. **Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-california/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-central-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-central-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-central-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-central-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.