Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025
In the District of Maine, 61% of the 214 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 37% received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 districts for the same offense type.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of Maine
In brief: In the District of Maine, 61% of the 214 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 37% received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 districts for the same offense type.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 214 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.
Probation Only Was Common in These Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" covers 214 people sentenced in the District of Maine over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 131 (61%) received a prison term, and 80 (37%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Across all 94 districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. Probation only was therefore more common in Maine than in the national group. These 214 people were 13% of the 1,628 people sentenced in the district in those years.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 4 months or less. Across all districts, the median was 20 months, and for all offenses in Maine it was 36 months.
Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
Restitution Was Ordered in Most Cases
Restitution was ordered for 182 of the 214 people (85%). A fine was ordered for 23 (11%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 125 people (58%), with a median term of 36 months. The records do not say how much money was involved in any case.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
Guilty pleas were entered by 208 of 214 people (97%), and 6 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 33 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on only 4 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among guilty pleas, 63% had a written plea agreement and 38% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 18 of the 213 people with that information recorded (8%).
Position Against the Guideline Range
Among the 213 people with the information, 46% (97) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 26% (56) were below the range at the government's request, and 27% (57) were below the range without a government request. Sentences above the range numbered 3 (1%).
For all offenses in Maine, 30% of sentences were within the range. For this offense type in all districts, the figure was 45%.
Guideline and Criminal History
The Commission lists 213 of the 214 cases as sentenced primarily under §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft). The offense type is the Commission's own category, so it groups several kinds of conduct together.
Among the 214 people, 69% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and less than 1% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts and Medians by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 105 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 109 people. A fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September.
The yearly table shows median prison terms of 29 months in fiscal year 2022 and 33 months in fiscal year 2023, higher than the 10 to 13 months in most earlier years. Yearly groups are small, and the records cannot show whether this is a trend or what caused it.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 33 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 26 | 13 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 29 | 10 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 17 | 12.3 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 12 | 12.5 months | 92% |
| 2021 | 30 | 12 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 14 | 29 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 13 | 33 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 21 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 19 | 12 months | 95% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maine (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maine") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (214). 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 Maine, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maine, 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.