Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025
In the District of Hawaii, 151 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 124 (82%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2 years). For all 94 districts, 73% were sent to prison and the median was 20 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of Hawaii
In brief: In the District of Hawaii, 151 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 124 (82%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2 years). For all 94 districts, 73% were sent to prison and the median was 20 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 151 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Restitution and Prison in Fraud Cases
Restitution was ordered for 116 of the 151 people (77%). A fine was ordered for 22 (15%).
124 people (82%) received a prison term, and 22 (15%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 46.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
Comparison With All Districts
"Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. For all 94 federal districts together, it had 58,502 people, 73% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 20 months.
The share sent to prison was higher in this district, and the median was higher. For all offenses in the District of Hawaii, the median prison term was 53 months. These cases were 11% of the 1,377 people sentenced in the district.
Primary Guidelines
135 of the cases had §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) as the primary guideline. One case had §2B6.1 (Altering or Removing Motor Vehicle Identification Numbers, or Trafficking in Motor Vehicles or Parts with Altered or Obliterated Identification Numbers).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 37 of the 150 people with that information recorded (25%).
Trials Compared With Guilty Pleas
138 of 151 (91%) pleaded guilty, and 13 were convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, guilty pleas were 96% in this offense type.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. After a trial it was 97 months, based on 13 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 87% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The groups of cases may differ in the kind of fraud and the amount involved. The records here cannot isolate the effect of going to trial.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
56% of sentences (84 people) were within the guideline range. 22% (33) were below the range at the government's request, and 16% (24) were below the range without a government request. 7% (10) were above the range.
For comparison, the share within the range was 45% in all 94 districts for this offense type and 37% for every offense in this district.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
123 people (81%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. 77% were in the lowest criminal history category, and less than 1% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal Year Table
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 68 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 83 people. Yearly counts range from 5 to 32. Fiscal year 2021 had the most people, with 32. The years with 5 to 7 people have medians that rest on very few cases.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 14 | 18 months | 79% |
| 2017 | 20 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 15 | 41 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 19 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 14 | 24 months | 93% |
| 2021 | 32 | 24 months | 94% |
| 2022 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 19 | 33 months | 84% |
| 2024 | 5 | 29 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2025 | 7 | 30 months | 6 of 7 |
Federal Court Versus Courts-Martial, and Limits
Courts-martial are tried in military courts. The military installations in the site's court-martial data that sit in this district are Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, and Wheeler Army Airfield.
The counts cover convicted and sentenced people, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms here are imposed terms, not time served. The records do not show the amount of loss in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Hawaii (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Hawaii") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (151). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.