Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025
561 people in the District of Minnesota were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 71% received a prison term, and 22% received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years), compared with 20 months for this offense type in all 94 federal distric
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of Minnesota
In brief: 561 people in the District of Minnesota were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 71% received a prison term, and 22% received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years), compared with 20 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 561 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 Was Ordered for Nearly Everyone
Restitution was ordered for 529 of the 561 people (94%). A fine was ordered for 26 (5%). Restitution is a court order to repay a loss to a victim, and these figures show how often it was ordered, not how much.
These cases were 15% of the 3,630 people sentenced in the District of Minnesota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Which Guidelines Are Behind the Category
The U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns the offense type by primary guideline. In Minnesota, 546 people were sentenced under §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft). 2 were sentenced under §2B1.4 (Insider Trading), and 1 under §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources).
Prison and Probation
400 of the 561 people (71%) received a prison term, and 123 (22%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all districts, 73% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 51 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. For all offenses in the District of Minnesota, the median was 70 months, which is higher than this offense type's median. Prison terms here are terms imposed.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
525 of 561 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 36 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea. After a trial it was 42.5 months, based on 34 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Guilty pleas were 96% for this offense type in all districts and 94% for all offenses in this district. 98% of guilty pleas in Minnesota had a written plea agreement. A mandatory minimum applied to 56 of the 558 people with that information recorded (10%).
The Guideline Range
Of 557 people with this information, 36% (203) were below the range without a government request, 35% (195) were below it at the government's request, and 28% (154) were within it. Less than 1% (5) were above it.
Within-range sentences were 45% for this offense type in all districts and 31% for all offenses in this district.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
393 people (70%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. 65% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 8% in the highest. The military data has no criminal history field.
Counts and Medians by Year
307 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 254 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year begins October 1 and ends at the close of September.
The yearly medians in the table range from 12 months in 2025 to 42 months in 2017. Counts range from 24 people in 2021 to 112 in 2016. The records cannot show what accounts for these differences between years.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 112 | 24 months | more than 99% |
| 2017 | 81 | 42 months | 90% |
| 2018 | 43 | 33 months | 81% |
| 2019 | 71 | 28.5 months | 87% |
| 2020 | 47 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 24 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 33 | 33 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 47 | 15.5 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 36 | 16.5 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 67 | 12 months | 93% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Minnesota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Minnesota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (561). 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 Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of Minnesota, 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.