Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
Restitution was ordered for 216 of the 264 people (82%) sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Middle District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Prison terms went to 203 people (77%), with a median of 15 months, lower than the 20 months across all 94 federal districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY201 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Middle District of Tennessee
In brief: Restitution was ordered for 216 of the 264 people (82%) sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Middle District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Prison terms went to 203 people (77%), with a median of 15 months, lower than the 20 months across all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 264 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 and Other Financial Penalties
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 264 people in the offense type it labels "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement." Restitution was ordered for 216 (82%). A fine was ordered for 26 (10%).
Restitution is money the court orders a person to pay to victims. It is far more common than a fine in this offense type. Restitution was ordered for 1% of firearms cases in this district, a different offense type with the same data fields, so the pattern here is specific to this group.
These 264 cases were 9% of the 2,879 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms and Probation
Of the 264 people, 203 (77%) received a prison term, and 46 (17%) received probation only. Across all districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 32 months or more, and a quarter received 4.6 months or less. The national median was 20 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 50 months.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 198 people (75%), with a median term of 36 months.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Among the 259 people with this information, 112 (43%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 74 (29%) were sentenced below it without a request. A total of 70 (27%) were within the range, and 3 (1%) were above it.
Across all districts, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. Within-range sentences were less common here. For all offenses in this district, 26% were within the range.
Guidelines and Mandatory Minimums
The offense type is assigned from the primary guideline. In this district, 251 of the 264 cases used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), and 1 used §2B1.4 (Insider Trading).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 26 of the 263 people with that information (10%).
Pleas and Trials
Of the 264 people, 250 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 96% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement, and 2% were straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 15 months. After a trial, it was 18 months, based on 13 people who were sent to prison. These figures are close, but the trial group is small.
In the criminal history records, 77% were in the lowest category, category I, and 4% were in the highest, category VI.
Fewer Cases in Later Years
The district sentenced 182 people in this group in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 82 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts fell from 65 in fiscal year 2018 to 7 in fiscal year 2022 and were 16 in fiscal year 2025.
Yearly medians range from 7 months in 2025 to 26.3 months in 2021. The records cannot show whether the lower counts reflect fewer offenses, fewer prosecutions, or other changes.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 41 | 10.1 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 46 | 12 months | 91% |
| 2018 | 65 | 24 months | 91% |
| 2019 | 30 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 19 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 15 | 26.3 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 7 | 15 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 13 | 22.5 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 12 | 15 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 16 | 7 months | 94% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The records do not give the amount of loss in any case, so they cannot explain the wide gap between the lowest and highest prison terms.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (264). 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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, 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.