Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025
In the District of New Hampshire, 208 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 68% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, and 20% received probation only. Across all 94 federal districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of New Hampshire
In brief: In the District of New Hampshire, 208 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 68% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, and 20% received probation only. Across all 94 federal districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison and the median prison term was 20 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 208 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.
How Many Were Sentenced, and to What?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission groups federal cases into offense types. "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is one of those categories, and the figures here cover only people convicted and sentenced in this district. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
Of the 208 people, 141 (68%) received a prison term and 41 (20%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 28 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. Prison terms here are the terms imposed, not time served.
How This District Compares With All 94 Districts
For this offense type in all 94 districts together, the Commission counts 58,502 people. 73% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 20 months, and 96% pleaded guilty. In New Hampshire, the share sent to prison was lower than that national figure, and the median prison term was also lower.
Fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases were 12% of the 1,754 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 30 months, which is higher than the 18 months for this offense type.
Guideline Ranges and Departures
The sentencing guidelines give a recommended range for each case. In this offense type, 44% of sentences (91 people) were within the range. 37% (77) were below the range at the government's request, 17% (35) were below the range without a government request, and 2% (5) were above the range.
Across all offenses in the district, 31% of sentences were within the range. For this offense type in all districts, the figure was 45%. The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), which applied to 205 of the 208 people.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
201 of 208 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 36 months, but that figure rests on only 5 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group that small cannot support a general conclusion.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 18 of the 208 people (9%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
125 people (60%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 17 people (8%). Restitution was ordered for 164 people (79%).
68% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 8% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart.
Year-by-Year Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 85 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 123. The fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30. Each single year has between 14 and 28 people, so the yearly median prison terms move widely and should be read as small-group figures. The table lists each year.
The records do not show what caused any change from one year to the next.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 28 | 15 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 23 | 25 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 14 | 17 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 20 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 15 | 10.2 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 23 | 18 months | 96% |
| 2022 | 25 | 6 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 22 | 10.8 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 18 | 24 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 20 | 25.5 months | 95% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data does not show the facts of any case, the amount of money involved, or the charges that were dropped before sentencing. It does not show time served. It covers a single district and cannot say how the same cases would have been handled elsewhere.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Hampshire (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Hampshire") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (208). 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 New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, 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.