Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Illinois, 1,319 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 999 (76%) received a prison term, with a median of 21 months, and 257 (19%) received probation only. Restitution was ordered for 1,138 people (86%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY20 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Northern District of Illinois
In brief: In the Northern District of Illinois, 1,319 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 999 (76%) received a prison term, with a median of 21 months, and 257 (19%) received probation only. Restitution was ordered for 1,138 people (86%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,319 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 Probation in Fraud Cases
Restitution was ordered for 1,138 of the 1,319 people (86%). A fine was ordered for 103 (8%).
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was given to 257 people (19%). A prison term went to 999 (76%).
Across all 94 districts, 73% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
The median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 40 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less. The median across all districts was 20 months, which is about the same.
For all offenses in this district, the median was 42 months. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement terms are shorter than the district's overall median.
Supervised release followed prison for 922 people (70%), with a median term of 24 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 87 of the 1,316 people with that information (7%).
Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions
Of the 1,319 people, 1,208 (92%) pleaded guilty, and 111 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 96% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 93%.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 21 months. After a trial it was 30 months, based on 107 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among the guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement, and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Which Guidelines Applied
"Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline for most people was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), used for 1,273.
Smaller groups were sentenced under §2B1.4 (Insider Trading), for 12 people, §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), for 4, and §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)), for 2.
These cases were 21% of the 6,211 people sentenced in the district.
Against the Guideline Range
Of the 1,317 people with this information, 288 (22%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 731 (56%) were below the range without a request from the government, and 284 (22%) were below it at the government's request. Above the range were 14 (1%).
In all districts, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 29%.
Counts and Medians by Fiscal Year
Fiscal year 2016 has the most people, 204, and fiscal year 2021 has the fewest, 87. The yearly median runs from 15 months in fiscal year 2020 to 27 months in fiscal year 2025.
Counts were lower in fiscal years 2020 to 2023 than in fiscal years 2016 to 2019. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 708 people in total, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 611. The records do not explain the change in counts. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 204 | 18 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 194 | 24 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 165 | 21 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 145 | 21 months | 91% |
| 2020 | 89 | 15 months | 91% |
| 2021 | 87 | 16.5 months | 94% |
| 2022 | 95 | 24 months | 89% |
| 2023 | 100 | 18 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 125 | 18 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 115 | 27 months | 87% |
Criminal History and the Installation Note
In criminal history, 78% were in the lowest category (Category I), and 2% were in the highest (Category VI).
Great Lakes, Illinois, is a military installation in the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these cases are not from the installation.
Limits of the Data
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in this data. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served, and the data gives no loss amounts or case details.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (1,319). 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 Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, 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.