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# Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:35:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:35:13.000Z
- Description: Of the 945 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Northern District of Ohio in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 661 (70%) received a prison term and 194 (21%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, the
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-ohio/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Northern District of Ohio

**In brief:** Of the 945 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Northern District of Ohio in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 661 (70%) received a prison term and 194 (21%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, the median was 20 months.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 945 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Prison, Probation, and the Middle Term

In this district, 70% of the group went to prison, compared with 73% across all 94 districts. The median prison term was 24 months here and 20 months across all districts. The Commission counted 58,502 people for this offense type nationwide.

Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 41 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less. That is a wide spread. The terms are imposed terms, not time served.

## Restitution Was Ordered in Most Cases

Restitution was ordered for 814 of the 945 people (86%), and a fine for 88 (9%). Supervised release followed prison for 660 people (70%), with a median term of 36 months.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 147 of the 943 people with that information recorded (16%).

## Pleas and Trials

There were 910 guilty pleas (96%) and 35 convictions after a trial. The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea. After a trial it was 48 months, based on 34 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.

Across all districts, 96% pleaded guilty, the same rate as here. In this district, 85% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Range

The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's manual. Of 944 people with the information, 433 (46%) were sentenced within it. 255 (27%) were below the range at the government's request, and 240 (25%) were below it without a government request. 16 (2%) were above it.

The within-range share was 45% across all districts. For all offenses in this district it was 43%.

## Guidelines and Criminal History

The primary guideline for 910 people was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft). Another 2 are listed under §2F1.1 (\[Deleted\]), a guideline that no longer exists, and 1 under §2B6.1 (Altering or Removing Motor Vehicle Identification Numbers, or Trafficking in Motor Vehicles or Parts with Altered or Obliterated Identification Numbers).

In the lowest criminal history category were 68% of the group, and 4% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. These cases were 12% of the 7,866 people sentenced in the district, where the median prison term for all offenses was 46 months.

## Yearly Figures

The district sentenced 428 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 517 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the following September. In the table, the yearly median prison term ranges from 12 months to 32 months. The records do not explain the differences between years.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 124              | 12 months     | 97%            |
| 2017        | 124              | 21 months     | 92%            |
| 2018        | 102              | 24 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 78               | 24 months     | 99%            |
| 2020        | 72               | 32 months     | 94%            |
| 2021        | 61               | 24 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 94               | 24 months     | 97%            |
| 2023        | 117              | 24 months     | 97%            |
| 2024        | 93               | 18 months     | 94%            |
| 2025        | 80               | 24 months     | 96%            |

## What the Records Cannot Show

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in the data. Acquittals and dismissals are not. The records do not show the dollar amount involved in a case, so the medians here do not separate large cases from small ones.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (945). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-ohio/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.