Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1,096 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 20% of the 5,462 people sentenced in the district. 72% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Restitution was ordered for 87%.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, F › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1,096 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 20% of the 5,462 people sentenced in the district. 72% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Restitution was ordered for 87%.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,096 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 Was Ordered in Most Cases
Restitution was ordered for 952 of the 1,096 people (87%). A fine was ordered for 158 (14%). Restitution is money a court orders paid to the people or organizations that lost it.
The records show whether restitution was ordered, not how much, and not whether any of it was paid.
Prison Terms and Probation
784 people (72%) received a prison term, and 220 (20%) received probation only. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 18 months.
A quarter of the terms were 4 months or less, and a quarter were 37 months or more. For all fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases in all 94 districts, 73% were sent to prison and the median was 20 months. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 42 months.
Pleas and Trials
1,044 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 52 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 16 months. After a trial it was 46 months, based on 49 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Of the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement. The data cannot show whether going to trial caused the difference in medians.
Guidelines and Mandatory Minimums
"Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is a U.S. Sentencing Commission offense type based on the primary guideline. 1,081 cases used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft).
Smaller groups used §2B1.4 (Insider Trading), with 6 cases, and §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources), with 3. 1 case used §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 238 people (22%).
Against the Guideline Range
Information on the guideline range was recorded for 1,094 people. 36% of sentences (393) were within the range. 33% (358) were below it at the government's request, and 29% (322) were below it without a government request. 2% (21) were above the range.
In all districts, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 34% were.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
779 people (71%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. 71% of the people sentenced were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 4% were in the highest, category VI.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 547 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 549. The yearly count was 165 in 2016 and 64 in 2025, as the table shows. The yearly median prison terms range from 12 months to 24 months.
The records cannot show why the number of cases changed or why medians differ between years.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 165 | 20 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 147 | 15 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 124 | 24 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 111 | 12 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 101 | 15.5 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 100 | 20.5 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 104 | 14 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 103 | 18 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 77 | 12 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 64 | 19 months | 92% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so dismissals and acquittals are not in the data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The data does not describe the amount of money involved in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (1,096). 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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 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.