> ## 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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-tennessee/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:35:38.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:35:38.000Z - Description: 389 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Eastern District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 291 (75%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months, and 75% were ordered to pay restitution. The district's median for all offenses was 70 months. - 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 Tennessee, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-tennessee/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Eastern District of Tennessee **In brief:** 389 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Eastern District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 291 (75%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months, and 75% were ordered to pay restitution. The district's median for all offenses was 70 months. 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 389 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/). ## A Shorter-Term Category in a District of Long Terms The Sentencing Commission's "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" offense type was 6% of the 6,452 people sentenced in this district. The median prison term in this category was 24 months. The median for all offenses in the district was 70 months, which is higher. For all 94 districts in this category, the median was 20 months. 291 of the 389 people (75%) received a prison term, and 82 (21%) received probation only. In all districts, 73% of the 58,502 people were sent to prison. ## Restitution Was the Main Financial Order Restitution was ordered for 290 people (75%). A fine was ordered for 28 (7%). Restitution is money paid to victims for their losses, and a fine is paid to the government. 287 people (74%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. ## Prison Terms in Detail Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 11.1 months or less. The median was 24 months (2 years). The median was 24 months after a guilty plea and 51 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 17 people. 371 of the 389 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 18 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 96% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the district, 98% did. ## Against the Guideline Range The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. Of 386 sentences with the information, 218 (56%) were within the range. 90 (23%) were below the range at the government's request, and 73 (19%) were below it without a government request. 5 (1%) were above the range. For all districts in this category, 45% were within the range. For all offenses in the district, 48% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 63 of 384 people with that information (16%). ## Guidelines, Pleas, and Criminal History The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 358 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) and §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources) each applied to 1. Among guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement. In criminal history terms, 71% were in category I, the lowest, and 6% were in category VI, the highest. ## Fiscal Year Counts Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 191 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 198\. Yearly counts in the table run from 19 to 55 people. The median was 24 months in several years, 30 months in fiscal year 2020, and 12 months in fiscal year 2025\. The records cannot show why, and a single year with 25 people is not a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 55 | 24 months | 96% | | 2017 | 41 | 24 months | 90% | | 2018 | 50 | 24 months | 98% | | 2019 | 45 | 24 months | 93% | | 2020 | 32 | 30 months | 84% | | 2021 | 19 | 25.5 months | 100% | | 2022 | 41 | 27 months | 95% | | 2023 | 38 | 24 months | 97% | | 2024 | 43 | 22.5 months | 100% | | 2025 | 25 | 12 months | 100% | ## What Is Not in the Data The data leaves out acquittals and dismissals because it counts only people convicted and sentenced. It also does not state the amount of money involved in any case. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (389). 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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-tennessee/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-eastern-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-tennessee/) (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.