> ## 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 Illinois, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:43.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:43.000Z - Description: Of 290 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Central District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 241 (83%) received a prison term and 29 (10%) received probation only. The median prison term was 13 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 districts. - 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 Illinois, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-illinois/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Central District of Illinois **In brief:** Of 290 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Central District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 241 (83%) received a prison term and 29 (10%) received probation only. The median prison term was 13 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 districts. 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 290 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/). ## Who Went to Prison and for How Long In this category, 241 of the 290 people (83%) were sent to prison, and 29 (10%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 58,502 people were sentenced in the category, and 73% were sent to prison. The district's median prison term was 13 months. The median across all districts was 20 months, and the median for all offenses in the district was 70 months. A quarter of the district's group received 30 months or more, and the lower quarter received 0 months or less. One person received a life sentence. These are the terms imposed, not time served. ## Restitution Was Ordered for Most People Restitution was ordered for 263 of the 290 people (91%), a much higher share than fines, which were ordered for 14 (5%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 236 people (81%), and the median term was 36 months. ## Sentences and the Guideline Range The Commission recorded the position against the guideline range for 289 people. Within the range were 45% (131 people), below the range without a government request 38% (109), below the range at the government's request 15% (42), and above the range 2% (7). Across all districts, 45% of sentences in this category were within the range. The district's share was the same, and both were higher than the 36% for all offenses in the district. ## Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums Of the 290 people, 280 (97%) pleaded guilty and 10 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 67% had a written plea agreement and 29% were straight pleas with no agreement. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 65 months, based on 10 people. A mandatory minimum applied to 18 of the 289 people with that information recorded (6%). ## What the Category Contains "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. In this district, 285 cases used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft). These cases were 12% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Changes From Year to Year The federal fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 139 people were sentenced in this category, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025 there were 151. The yearly median was 0 months in both fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025, with 37 and 39 people. Earlier years in the table show medians between 6.3 and 27 months. The records cannot show why the medians changed. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 41 | 16 months | 100% | | 2017 | 27 | 21 months | 89% | | 2018 | 40 | 21 months | 100% | | 2019 | 31 | 22.5 months | 90% | | 2020 | 16 | 19.5 months | 94% | | 2021 | 23 | 27 months | 100% | | 2022 | 23 | 6.3 months | 96% | | 2023 | 13 | 18 months | 92% | | 2024 | 37 | 0 months | 100% | | 2025 | 39 | 0 months | 97% | ## Criminal History and Limits of the Data In criminal history, 66% were in the lowest category, category I, and 6% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and the records do not describe the facts of any case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois Cent") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (290). 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 Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-illinois/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (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.