Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
Of the 397 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 234 (59%) received a prison term and 153 (39%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 federal districts. Restituti
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–20 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: District of South Dakota
In brief: Of the 397 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 234 (59%) received a prison term and 153 (39%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 350 people (88%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 397 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 in This Offense Type
Prison was less common here than nationally. 59% of the group went to prison, compared with 73% for this offense type across all 94 districts. 153 people (39%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The group is 8% of the 5,041 people sentenced in the district. The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), used in 387 cases. §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources) was used in 3.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
Among the 234 sent to prison, the median was 12 months. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less. That range of terms is wide, and the median is only the middle point.
For all offenses in the district, the median was 36 months. For this offense type in all districts, where 58,502 people were sentenced, the median was 20 months.
Restitution and Other Orders
Restitution was ordered for 350 (88%). A fine was ordered for 23 (6%). 213 people (54%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 25 of the 397 people (6%). In criminal history, 62% were in the lowest category I and 4% in the highest VI.
Position Against the Guideline Range
61% of sentences (243) were within the advisory guideline range. 15% (58) were below it at the government's request, 19% (77) were below it without a government request, and 5% (19) were above it.
Within-range sentences were more common here than across all districts for this offense type, where the figure is 45%. They were about the same as for all offenses in the district, at 57%.
Pleas and Trials
383 of 397 (96%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 24 months, based on 9 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
98% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Fewer Cases in Recent Years
217 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 180 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly count was 66 in fiscal year 2016 and 24 in fiscal year 2025. The records show the change in the count, not the reason for it.
Yearly medians range from 6 months in fiscal years 2020 and 2022 to 28.5 months in fiscal year 2021. With counts this size, a few cases can move a median.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 66 | 24 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 59 | 6.1 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 47 | 12 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 45 | 21 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 44 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 29 | 28.5 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 26 | 6 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 32 | 7 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 25 | 15 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 24 | 9.9 months | 100% |
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records also do not show the amounts involved or the details of any case, which are the facts that would explain a longer or shorter sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (397). 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 South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, 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.