Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
336 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 246 (73%) received a prison term and 87 (26%) received probation only. The median prison term was 6.9 months, compared with 20 months for all 94 federal districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of New Mexico
In brief: 336 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 246 (73%) received a prison term and 87 (26%) received probation only. The median prison term was 6.9 months, compared with 20 months for all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 336 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.
26% Received Probation Only
87 of the 336 people (26%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The share sent to prison, 73%, was the same as the national share for this offense type.
Among the 246 sent to prison, the median was 6.9 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 1.4 months or less. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 37 of the 333 people with that information recorded (11%).
Comparison With All Districts
Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement is the Commission's offense type for these cases. Nationally, 58,502 people were sentenced in it, and the median prison term was 20 months. Guilty pleas were 96% nationally and 99% here.
These cases were 1% of the 29,766 people sentenced in this district. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 3.5 months.
Guideline Range and Plea Agreements
Of the 320 people with this information, 183 (57%) were within the guideline range. 68 (21%) were below it at the government's request, and 64 (20%) were below it without a government request. 5 (2%) were above it. Nationally, 45% of sentences were within the range.
Among guilty pleas, 79% had a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Pleas and Trials
332 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 6.6 months after a guilty plea and 15 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 3 people sent to prison, so it is not a general result.
Money Orders, Release, and Criminal History
187 people (56%) were ordered to pay restitution, and 46 (14%) were ordered to pay a fine. 190 (57%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
69% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 3% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Primary Guidelines
§2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) was the primary guideline in 298 cases. §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources) was listed for 3, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) for 1.
Counts and Medians by Year
187 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 149 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
The count was 76 in 2019, with a median of 1.7 months, and 16 in 2024, with a median of 8.5 months. Yearly medians ranged from 1.7 months to 24 months. With 16 to 76 people per year, single years are not a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 39 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 38 | 9.5 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 34 | 13.5 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 76 | 1.7 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 40 | 3 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 20 | 13.7 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 24 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 29 | 12.2 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 16 | 8.5 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 20 | 7.7 months | 100% |
What Cannot Be Told From These Records
Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB are in this district. Their courts-martial are held in military courts, and this post covers federal cases only. Only convicted, sentenced people are counted, so acquittals and dismissals do not appear. Terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (336). 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 Mexico, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of New Mexico, 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.