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# Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:16:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:16:32.000Z
- Description: Of 337 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 67% received a prison term and 30% received probation only. The median prison term was 20 months, the same as the median across all 94 federal districts.
- 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 Wisconsin, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Eastern District of Wisconsin

**In brief:** Of 337 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 67% received a prison term and 30% received probation only. The median prison term was 20 months, the same as the median across all 94 federal districts.

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 337 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/).

## Prison or Probation

The district sentenced 337 people in this offense type over the 10 fiscal years. A total of 225 (67%) received a prison term, and 101 (30%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

Across all districts, 73% of people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement were sent to prison. The share here was lower than that. The records do not show why.

## A Median of 20 Months

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 20 months. A quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 9 months or less. The all-districts median was also 20 months.

The median for all offenses in this district was 48 months. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases had a lower median than the district's cases overall.

Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Most Sentences Fell Below the Guideline Range

Sentences within the guideline range were 27% (89 people). Sentences below the range at the government's request were 29% (96), and those below the range without a government request were 44% (147). Above the range were 3 people, less than 1%.

In all districts together, 45% of these sentences were within the range. The district's figure for all offenses was 17%.

## Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release

Restitution was ordered for 276 people (82%), and a fine for 24 (7%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 207 people (61%), with a median term of 36 months.

Restitution is money a defendant is ordered to repay to victims. The sheet does not give amounts.

## Criminal History and Plea Agreements

In the federal data, 71% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 3% in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

A total of 327 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 10 were convicted after a trial. More than 99% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.

The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 56 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 10 people, so it is a small group. A mandatory minimum applied to 32 of the 336 people with that information recorded (10%).

## Which Guidelines Applied

"Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 322 people. Others included §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) with 5 and §2B6.1 (Altering or Removing Motor Vehicle Identification Numbers, or Trafficking in Motor Vehicles or Parts with Altered or Obliterated Identification Numbers) with 2\. One person was sentenced mainly under §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).

These cases were 12% of the 2,907 people sentenced in the district. The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced.

## By Fiscal Year

The district sentenced 169 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 168 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Fiscal years run from October 1 to the end of September.

Yearly counts are small, some under 20, so one year's median should not be read as a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 42               | 17 months     | 100%           |
| 2017        | 43               | 15 months     | 95%            |
| 2018        | 49               | 16.5 months   | 98%            |
| 2019        | 35               | 21 months     | 97%            |
| 2020        | 38               | 19.5 months   | 97%            |
| 2021        | 28               | 21 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 16               | 15.9 months   | 88%            |
| 2023        | 19               | 18 months     | 95%            |
| 2024        | 34               | 18 months     | 94%            |
| 2025        | 33               | 31.5 months   | 100%           |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (337). 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 Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (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.