Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025
In the Middle District of Florida, 1,849 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 1,258 (68%) received a prison term, and 424 (23%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016– › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Middle District of Florida
In brief: In the Middle District of Florida, 1,849 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 1,258 (68%) received a prison term, and 424 (23%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,849 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.
Prison, Probation, and Restitution
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" offense type was 14% of the 13,145 people sentenced in this district. 1,258 of the 1,849 (68%) were sentenced to prison. 424 (23%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Restitution was ordered for 1,608 people (87%). A fine was ordered for 75 (4%). 1,236 people (67%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
The median prison term was 24 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 48 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, the median was 20 months, and 73% were sent to prison. For all offenses in this district, the median was 57 months. The district's share sent to prison was lower than the all-district share, and its median was higher.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
1,759 of 1,849 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 90 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, the rate was 96%, and for all offenses in this district it was 95%.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 24 months. After a trial, it was 60 months. That figure is based on 73 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show how the trial cases differed from the plea cases.
Among guilty pleas, 80% had a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
For 1,847 people with the information, 45% (834) were within the guideline range. 34% (622) were below it without a government request, and 19% (349) were below it at the government's request. 2% (42) were above it.
The share within the range matched the 45% across all districts. It was close to the 47% for all offenses in this district.
Mandatory Minimums and Guidelines
A mandatory minimum applied to 347 of the 1,847 people with that information recorded (19%). Nearly all cases used one guideline: §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), the primary guideline for 1,790 people.
Other guidelines were §2B1.4 (Insider Trading), for 3 people, and §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources), for 1 person.
For criminal history, 71% were in the lowest category and 5% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Medians
The district sentenced 934 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 915 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to the following September.
Yearly counts ranged from 142 to 253. Yearly medians ranged from 18 months in fiscal year 2025 to 30 months in fiscal year 2022. The table lists each year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 243 | 21 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 253 | 24 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 232 | 25 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 206 | 24 months | 93% |
| 2020 | 148 | 24 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 142 | 25 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 146 | 30 months | more than 99% |
| 2023 | 142 | 27 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 150 | 27 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 187 | 18 months | 96% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data includes only people convicted and sentenced. Dismissals and acquittals are not counted. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The category combines many kinds of financial crime under one label, and the records here do not show the dollar amounts involved. Courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of these federal numbers.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (1,849). 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 Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, 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.