Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
In the Middle District of North Carolina, 159 of the 225 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement (71%) received a prison term in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 26 months, compared with 20 months in all 94 districts. Another 52 people (23%) received probation only.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Middle District of North Carolina
In brief: In the Middle District of North Carolina, 159 of the 225 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement (71%) received a prison term in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 26 months, compared with 20 months in all 94 districts. Another 52 people (23%) received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 225 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.
Who Went to Prison and Who Received Probation
The Commission's offense type is "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement". In this district, it covered 225 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 6% of the 3,816 people sentenced.
Prison terms were imposed on 159 (71%), and probation only was imposed on 52 (23%). For all 94 districts, 73% were sent to prison.
The records show probation only for 52 people, but they do not show the facts that led to those sentences.
Length of Prison Terms
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 26 months (2.2 years). A quarter received 48 months or more, and a quarter received 14 months or less.
The median for all 94 districts was 20 months, so this district's median is higher. The yearly medians in the table ranged from 21 months to 46.5 months.
The 46.5-month median in 2021 rests on only 4 people, so it should not be read as a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 37 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 32 | 22.5 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 37 | 24 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 33 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 15 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 4 | 46.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 21 | 39 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 17 | 34 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 16 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 13 | 35.5 months | 100% |
Restitution Was Common
Restitution was ordered for 191 of the 225 people (85%). A fine was ordered for 27 (12%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 160 people (71%), with a median term of 36 months.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 225 people, 222 (99%) pleaded guilty and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 25.5 months. After a trial it was 48 months, based on 3 people.
Among the guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement. For all 94 districts, 96% of these cases ended in a guilty plea.
Compared With the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. In this district, 121 sentences (54%) were within the range, compared with 45% for all 94 districts.
Below the range at the government's request were 45 (20%). Below the range without a government request were 50 (22%), and above the range were 9 (4%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 57 of the 225 people (25%).
Guideline and Criminal History
The primary guideline in 197 cases was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft). In criminal history, 71% were in the lowest category, category I, and 3% were in the highest, category VI.
Limits of the Records
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 139 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 86 people. The records do not show why the counts differ, and they do not show the dollar amount of any loss.
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (225). 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 North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, 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.