Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Texas, 815 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 597 (73%) received a prison term, and 183 (22%) received probation only. Restitution was ordered for 658 people (81%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Eastern District of Texas
In brief: In the Eastern District of Texas, 815 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 597 (73%) received a prison term, and 183 (22%) received probation only. Restitution was ordered for 658 people (81%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 815 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 the Most Common Financial Order
Restitution was ordered for 658 of the 815 people (81%). A fine was ordered for 48 people (6%).
Restitution is money a court orders paid to victims. The records do not show the amounts.
Prison and Probation
A prison term went to 597 people (73%), and 183 people (22%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Nationwide, 73% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison, which is about the same as the share here.
The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 46 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 20 months, which is lower than the median here.
For all offenses in this district, the median was 64.5 months. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
What This Offense Type Covers
"Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the Commission's offense type, assigned by the primary guideline. Most people, 795, were sentenced under §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft).
Under §2B1.4 (Insider Trading), 2 people were sentenced. Under §2B6.1 (Altering or Removing Motor Vehicle Identification Numbers, or Trafficking in Motor Vehicles or Parts with Altered or Obliterated Identification Numbers), 1 person was sentenced.
These cases were 10% of the 7,998 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
A total of 796 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 19 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, more than 99% had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. After a trial it was 97 months, based on 19 people. The records cannot show whether the difference comes from the trial itself or from differences between the cases.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 62 of the 815 people (8%).
Guideline Range
Within the range were 57% of the sentences (468). Below the range at the government's request were 26% (210), and below the range without a government request were 11% (92). Above the range were 5% (44).
For all districts, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 64%.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 595 people (73%), with a median term of 36 months.
In criminal history, 67% were in the lowest category and 7% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts and Medians by Year
From fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 318 people were sentenced. From fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 497 were sentenced. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
Fiscal years 2024 and 2025 had the most people, with 135 and 124. The table shows medians of 33.8 months and 30 months in those years, and 14.5 months in fiscal year 2016. The records cannot show why yearly figures differ.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 97 | 14.5 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 83 | 25.5 months | 99% |
| 2018 | 90 | 15 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 48 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 42 | 27 months | 88% |
| 2021 | 63 | 27 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 61 | 30 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 72 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 135 | 33.8 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 124 | 30 months | 100% |
Limits
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the records do not describe individual cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (815). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, 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.