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# Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:59:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:59:22.000Z
- Description: 829 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 83% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, compared with 20 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. 69% were ordered to pay restitution.
- 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 Massachusetts, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-massachusetts/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of Massachusetts

**In brief:** 829 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 83% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, compared with 20 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. 69% were ordered to pay restitution.

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 829 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/).

## Restitution Was Ordered for 69%

Restitution was ordered for 569 of the 829 people (69%), and a fine for 126 (15%). These are the money penalties recorded in the data for this offense type in this district.

642 people (77%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 133 of the 821 people with that information recorded (16%).

## Prison Terms and Probation

684 people (83%) received a prison term, and 88 (11%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.

The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 4 months or less. The median for all offenses in the District of Massachusetts was 30 months, so these cases carried lower terms than the district's overall median.

## Trials Led to Longer Median Terms

771 of 829 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 58 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 15 months after a guilty plea and 35 months after a trial, based on 53 people.

78% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 22% were straight pleas. These are medians for different groups, and the records do not show what the same case would have received after a different type of plea.

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range

240 people (29%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 296 (36%) were below it at the government's request, and 266 (32%) were below it without a government request. 26 (3%) were above the range.

In all districts, 45% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 29%.

## Fiscal Year Medians

The yearly table shows a median prison term of 24 months in fiscal years 2016 and 2023, and 12 months in fiscal years 2024 and 2025\. A fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends at the close of September.

325 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 504 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly counts range from 60 to 96 people. The medians move up and down without a steady direction in the table.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 92               | 24 months     | 95%            |
| 2017        | 77               | 18 months     | 90%            |
| 2018        | 60               | 20 months     | 95%            |
| 2019        | 96               | 15 months     | 89%            |
| 2020        | 95               | 15 months     | 91%            |
| 2021        | 60               | 18 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 91               | 16.5 months   | 96%            |
| 2023        | 89               | 24 months     | 93%            |
| 2024        | 86               | 12 months     | 91%            |
| 2025        | 83               | 12 months     | 95%            |

## Guidelines and Criminal History

"Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) for 795 people, §2B1.4 (Insider Trading) for 15, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) for 1\. These cases were 17% of the 4,847 people sentenced in the district.

78% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, and 2% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What Cannot Be Learned Here

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals do not appear. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

The data gives no loss amounts or case facts, so it cannot show how large any fraud or theft was.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (829). 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 Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-massachusetts/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (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.