Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
Of 243 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Northern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 175 (72%) received a prison term and 54 (22%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 20 months for all 94 districts. Restitution was o
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, F › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Northern District of Mississippi
In brief: Of 243 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Northern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 175 (72%) received a prison term and 54 (22%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 20 months for all 94 districts. Restitution was ordered for 195 people (80%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 243 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 Are Common in These Cases
Restitution was ordered for 195 of the 243 people (80%). A fine was ordered for 10 (4%).
54 people (22%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, close to the 72% here.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 164 people (67%), with a median term of 36 months.
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
Among the 175 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 5.8 months or less.
For "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" in all 94 districts, the median was 20 months, which is higher. For all offenses in the Northern District of Mississippi, the median was 36 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
The Offense Type and Its Guidelines
The U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns an offense type to each sentenced person from the main guideline used at sentencing. This type was 15% of the 1,573 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
The primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) for 225 people. For 15 people it was §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources).
The district sentenced 123 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 120 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Pleas and Trials
239 of 243 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 96% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 12 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 4 people. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The records show the position for 241 people. Sentences within the range were given to 103 (43%). Sentences below the range without a government request were given to 91 (38%), and sentences below the range at the government's request to 41 (17%). Sentences above the range were given to 6 (2%).
For all districts, 45% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 7 of the 243 people with that information recorded (3%).
Criminal History and Yearly Counts
In criminal history, 70% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 3% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly counts range from 10 people in fiscal year 2021 to 44 in fiscal year 2016. Yearly medians range from 4.2 months to 24 months. A median built from 10 to 14 people moves easily, and the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 44 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 20 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 27 | 12 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 32 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 14 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 10 | 4.2 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 13 | 12.2 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 12 | 24 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 31 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 40 | 7 months | 95% |
What Is Not in the Records
Columbus AFB, Mississippi, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and the records do not state the amount of any loss.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (243). 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, 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.