Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 443 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Eastern District of Kentucky. 79% received a prison term, with a median of 19 months, and 12% received probation only. Restitution was ordered for 86%.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY201 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Eastern District of Kentucky
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 443 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Eastern District of Kentucky. 79% received a prison term, with a median of 19 months, and 12% received probation only. Restitution was ordered for 86%.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 443 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 and Shorter Terms Mark These Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" covers cases where money or property was taken or obtained improperly. In the Eastern District of Kentucky, 443 people were sentenced in this category in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Restitution, which is payment ordered to repay a loss, was ordered for 379 of them (86%). A fine was ordered for 51 (12%). Fines and restitution are separate orders, and a person can receive both.
Who Received Prison
350 of the 443 people (79%) received a prison term, and 54 (12%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 345 (78%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
The median prison term was 19 months. A quarter received 38 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served.
In all 94 districts, this category had 58,502 people, 73% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 20 months. The district's median is about the same as the national figure.
Guilty Pleas and Trial Sentences
396 of 443 (89%) pleaded guilty, and 47 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 96% pleaded guilty in this category, and 93% did in all offenses in this district.
The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 36 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 46 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
94% of those who pleaded guilty had a written plea agreement, and 6% entered a straight plea with no agreement.
The Guideline Range
55% of the sentences (242 people) were within the advisory guideline range. 12% (55) were below it at the government's request, and 32% (141) were below it without a government request. 1% (5) were above the range.
The within-range share was 45% for all districts in this category, and 54% for all offenses in this district.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 54 of the 441 people with that information recorded (12%).
Primary Guideline and Criminal History
Almost every case used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 436 people.
78% were in the lowest criminal history category, Category I, and 3% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so the post reports federal numbers only.
Place in the District's Workload
These cases were 10% of the 4,374 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term across all offenses in the district was 70 months, well above the 19 months here.
224 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 219 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Year-by-Year Table
The yearly table shows 82 people in 2016 and 21 in 2025, with the other years in between. The median prison term and the guilty plea rate move from year to year without a single direction.
Each year has between 21 and 82 people, which is larger than the very small yearly groups in some other offense types. Even so, one year should not be read as a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 82 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 60 | 26.5 months | 88% |
| 2018 | 38 | 18 months | 76% |
| 2019 | 44 | 24 months | 80% |
| 2020 | 43 | 24 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 41 | 13 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 52 | 12 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 31 | 21 months | 90% |
| 2024 | 31 | 30 months | 74% |
| 2025 | 21 | 16 months | 95% |
What the Records Do Not Show
The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not include acquittals or dismissals, and it does not give the amount of money involved in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (443). 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 Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, 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.