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# Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-delaware/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:16.000Z
- Description: Fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases in the District of Delaware ended in prison less often than in federal court as a whole: 71% of the 78 people sentenced from fiscal year 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, compared with 73% in all 94 districts. The median prison term was 21 months, and 19% rece
- 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 District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-delaware/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of Delaware

**In brief:** Fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases in the District of Delaware ended in prison less often than in federal court as a whole: 71% of the 78 people sentenced from fiscal year 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, compared with 73% in all 94 districts. The median prison term was 21 months, and 19% received probation only.

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 78 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

The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 78 people sentenced in the District of Delaware for the offense type "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The offense type is the Commission's own category. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted.

55 of the 78 (71%) received a prison term. 15 (19%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.

Across all 94 districts, 58,502 people were sentenced in this category. 73% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 20 months. Delaware's median is about the same as that figure.

## Nearly All Cases Ended in Guilty Pleas

73 of the 78 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts was 96%, and the rate for all offenses in Delaware was also 96%.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 72 months. That trial figure rests on only 4 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison, so it describes a very small group.

Among guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement, and 1% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Sentences Below the Guideline Range Were Common

Only 26% of sentences (20 people) were within the guideline range. In all districts, 45% of sentences in this category were within the range, and for all offenses in Delaware the figure was 44%.

Sentences below the range were more common in Delaware than sentences within it. 35% (27 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 37% (29 people) were below the range without a government request. 3% (2 people) were above the range.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 78 people (5%).

## Money Orders, Supervised Release, and Criminal History

Restitution was ordered for 60 people (77%), and a fine for 11 (14%). Restitution is money the court orders paid to those harmed.

53 people (68%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months.

In criminal history, 79% of the people were in the lowest category, and 3% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 12               | 12 months     | 100%           |
| 2017        | 9                | 28.5 months   | 9 of 9         |
| 2018        | 11               | 16.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2019        | 17               | 28.5 months   | 82%            |
| 2020        | 2                | 6 months      | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 5                | 16 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2022        | 6                | 18 months     | 5 of 6         |
| 2023        | 2                | 24 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 4                | 15 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2025        | 10               | 18 months     | 90%            |

## How Much This Category Matters in Delaware

These cases were 8% of the 925 people sentenced in the district over the period. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 27 months, which is higher than the 21 months for this category.

The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), used for 77 of the 78 people.

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 49 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 29.

## What the Yearly Table and the Records Cannot Show

The yearly counts are small, from 2 people in 2020 and 2023 to 17 in 2019\. Medians based on so few people can change a lot from one year to the next, so the table is not evidence of a trend.

Dover AFB, Delaware is a military installation in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these numbers say nothing about any court-martial case.

The records do not include acquittals or dismissals, the amount of money involved, or the reasons a judge chose a particular sentence.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Delaware (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Delaware") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (78). 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 District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-delaware/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (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.