> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:34:50.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:34:50.000Z - Description: In the Eastern District of Michigan, 1,229 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 1,012 (82%) received a prison term. The median was 24 months (2 years), compared with 20 months for all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 1,103 (90%). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-michigan/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Eastern District of Michigan **In brief:** In the Eastern District of Michigan, 1,229 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 1,012 (82%) received a prison term. The median was 24 months (2 years), compared with 20 months for all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 1,103 (90%). Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,229 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Restitution Was Ordered for Most People Restitution was ordered for 1,103 of the 1,229 people (90%). A fine was ordered for 59 (5%). The Commission's data does not list the amounts. The offense type is "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement", and it is assigned from the primary guideline. Almost all cases, 1,208, were sentenced mainly under §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft). ## Prison Terms and Probation Of the 1,229 people, 1,012 (82%) received a prison term and 172 (14%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 districts, 73% were sent to prison. The share here is higher. The median prison term was 24 months. A quarter received 39 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. For all 94 districts the median was 20 months, and for all offenses in this district it was 36 months. ## Guilty Pleas and Trials Guilty pleas numbered 1,186 (97%), and 43 people were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 96% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 96%. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 21 months. After a trial, it was 65 months, based on 41 people sent to prison. The trial median is higher than the plea median. Of the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums The guideline position is known for 1,227 people. Within the range were 24% (290), below the range at the government's request 26% (321), and below the range without a government request 50% (612). Above the range were 4 people, less than 1%. For all 94 districts, 45% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The share here is lower than both. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 170 of the 1,226 people with that information recorded (14%). ## Supervised Release and Criminal History Supervised release after prison was ordered for 978 people (80%), with a median term of 24 months. In criminal history, 68% were in the lowest category (category I) and 4% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that measure has no military counterpart. ## Size and Timing Fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases were 16% of the 7,508 people sentenced in this district. There were 629 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 600 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly medians in the table are 24 months in most years, 12 months in 2023, and 13.2 months in 2025\. Yearly counts range from 57 to 189 people. The records do not explain why 2023 and 2025 differ, and each fiscal year begins on October 1. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 189 | 22 months | 98% | | 2017 | 138 | 24 months | 95% | | 2018 | 153 | 24 months | 92% | | 2019 | 149 | 24 months | 98% | | 2020 | 77 | 24 months | 99% | | 2021 | 57 | 23.4 months | 100% | | 2022 | 148 | 24 months | 97% | | 2023 | 118 | 12 months | 97% | | 2024 | 90 | 24 months | 98% | | 2025 | 110 | 13.2 months | 94% | ## Limits of the Data Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (1,229). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.