Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 472 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. 326 (69%) received a prison term, and 109 (23%) received probation only. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Middle District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 472 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. 326 (69%) received a prison term, and 109 (23%) received probation only. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 472 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 the National Comparison
Of the 472 people, 326 (69%) received a prison term and 109 (23%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 58,502 people were in this offense type, and 73% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison here, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less. The median for all districts was 20 months, so the figures are close. For all offenses in this district, the median was 46 months.
These are terms imposed, not time served.
Restitution Was Common
Restitution was ordered for 372 people (79%). A fine was ordered for 68 (14%).
Supervised release followed prison for 323 people (68%), with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 60 of the 472 people with that information recorded (13%).
The Guidelines Behind the Category
"Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the Commission's offense type, grouped by the primary sentencing guideline. §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) was the primary guideline for 446 people.
§2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources) was listed for 4 people. These cases were 12% of the 4,067 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and the 17 Trials
455 of 472 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 17 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 96% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 20 months. After a trial it was 70 months, based on 17 people. The records do not show how the cases differed.
Among the guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 53% of the 471 cases with the information (251 people). Below the range at the government's request were 21% (101 people), and below the range without a government request were 23% (109 people). Above the range were 2% (10 people).
For this offense type across all districts, 45% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 47%.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 53 | 15 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 55 | 27 months | 93% |
| 2018 | 60 | 24 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 42 | 18 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 39 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 40 | 24 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 49 | 24 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 47 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 54 | 24 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 33 | 18 months | 100% |
Year-by-Year Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 210 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 262. Yearly counts in the table range from 33 in 2025 to 60 in 2018.
Yearly medians range from 12 months in 2020 to 27 months in 2017. The pattern is uneven, and the records do not show a steady direction.
Criminal History and What Is Not Counted
In criminal history, 68% were in the lowest category I and 5% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and the records do not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (472). 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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 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.