Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025
Of 407 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the District of Oregon in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 65% received a prison term and 28% received probation only. The median prison term was 21 months, which is about the same as the 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 Oregon, FY2016–2025 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of Oregon
In brief: Of 407 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the District of Oregon in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 65% received a prison term and 28% received probation only. The median prison term was 21 months, which is about the same as the 20 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts together.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 407 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
This offense type is different from drug and firearms cases because many people did not go to prison. 263 of the 407 (65%) received a prison term, and 113 (28%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
In all 94 federal districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. Supervised release followed prison for 258 people (63%) in the District of Oregon, with a median term of 36 months.
Length of Prison Terms
Among the 263 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 37 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. The median for all offenses in the district was 32 months, which is higher.
The terms are those imposed, not time served. The yearly table shows medians from 6 months to 36 months, and the counts are small enough that the records do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 48 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 38 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 47 | 24 months | 87% |
| 2019 | 37 | 36 months | 89% |
| 2020 | 32 | 36 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 43 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 34 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 45 | 15 months | 91% |
| 2024 | 40 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 43 | 13.5 months | 100% |
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
31% of sentences (125 of 406 with the information) were within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request was 47% (189), below it without a government request was 22% (88), and above the range was less than 1% (4). In all districts, 45% were within the range.
A mandatory minimum applied to 82 of the 407 people (20%).
The Guidelines Used
The Commission's "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" offense type is its own category. It was 9% of the 4,319 people sentenced in the district. The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 381 people.
Another guideline, §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources), had 2 people, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) had 1.
Restitution, Fines, and Criminal History
Restitution was ordered for 344 people (85%), and a fine for 11 (3%). Restitution is a payment to the people or organizations that lost money or property.
By criminal history, 60% were in the lowest category and 7% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Pleas and Cases by Period
393 of 407 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 21 months. After a trial it was 31.5 months, based on 12 people sent to prison.
170 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 237 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs October 1 to the end of September.
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. The records do not give the amounts involved or the facts of any case, so they cannot explain why one person received probation and another received prison.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Oregon (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oregon") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (407). 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 Oregon, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Oregon, 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.