Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025
Of 727 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Northern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 69% received a prison term and 21% received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months, compared with 20 months in all 94 districts. Restitution was ordered for 74
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Northern District of California
In brief: Of 727 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Northern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 69% received a prison term and 21% received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months, compared with 20 months in all 94 districts. Restitution was ordered for 74%.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 727 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 Fines
Restitution was ordered for 539 of the 727 people (74%). Restitution is money a court orders paid back to victims. A fine was ordered for 129 (18%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 480 (66%), with a median term of 36 months.
Prison or Probation
A total of 500 of the 727 (69%) received a prison term, and 155 (21%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 73% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 6 months or less, and a quarter received 33 months or more. The median for all offenses in this district was 30 months, so fraud, theft, and embezzlement terms were lower than the district overall. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the range the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines calculate for each case. Of the 726 people with this information, 31% (224) were sentenced within the range. A below-range sentence at the government's request applied to 35% (254), and one without a government request applied to 33% (237). Above-range sentences applied to 2% (11).
In all districts, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district the share was 24%.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 688 of 727 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 39 were convicted after a trial. In all districts the rate was 96%. Among the guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement, and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 44 months, based on 34 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
The Offense Type and Its Guidelines
"Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is a category set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. These cases were 16% of the 4,531 people sentenced in the district. The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 693 cases. Another was §2B1.4 (Insider Trading), with 6.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 59 of the 724 people with that information recorded (8%).
Yearly Counts and Medians
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 336 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 391 people. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. The yearly median ranged from 7.5 months in 2024 to 24 months in 2022 and 2023. The table lists the counts and plea rates for each year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 90 | 21 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 82 | 22 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 87 | 22.5 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 77 | 18 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 70 | 18 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 53 | 18 months | 96% |
| 2022 | 68 | 24 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 69 | 24 months | 87% |
| 2024 | 80 | 7.5 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 51 | 12 months | 100% |
Criminal History and What the Records Leave Out
In this group, 72% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 9% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (727). 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 Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Northern District of California, 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.