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# Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-alabama/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:14:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:14:03.000Z
- Description: Restitution was ordered for 318 of the 368 people (86%) sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Southern District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 368, 264 (72%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, and 87 (24%) received probation only.
- 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 Southern District of Alabama, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-alabama/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Southern District of Alabama

**In brief:** Restitution was ordered for 318 of the 368 people (86%) sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Southern District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of the 368, 264 (72%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, and 87 (24%) received probation only.

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 368 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/).

## Restitution Was Common

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 368 people in this district whose offense type was Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement. Restitution was ordered for 318 (86%), and a fine was ordered for 8 (2%).

These cases were 12% of the 2,994 people sentenced in this district in the period. The records do not show the amounts of restitution.

## Prison, Probation, and Median Terms

Of the 368 people, 264 (72%) received a prison term, and 87 (24%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 2.7 months or less.

Across all 94 federal districts, 58,502 people were sentenced in this category, 73% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 20 months. The median here was lower. For all offenses in this district, the median was 41 months.

## Which Guideline Applied

§2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) was the primary guideline for 353 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) applied to 2, and §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources) applied to 1.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 57 of the 368 people with that information recorded (15%).

## Guideline Range Position

All 368 people had guideline information. Of these, 198 (54%) were sentenced within the range. Another 110 (30%) were below it without a government request, and 54 (15%) were below it at the government's request. 6 people (2%) were above the range.

In all districts, 45% of sentences in this category were within the range. The share here was higher. For all offenses in this district, it was 56%, so the share here was about the same.

## Pleas and Trials

Of the 368 people, 360 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 82 months, based on 6 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

In all districts, 96% pleaded guilty. Of the guilty pleas here, 95% came with a written plea agreement, and 5% were straight pleas.

## Supervised Release and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 264 people (72%), with a median term of 42 months. In criminal history, 62% were in the lowest category (category I), and 5% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

The count was 125 in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 243 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly count was 83 in fiscal year 2023, the largest in the table.

Medians in the table are 6 months in 2016, 2021, and 2023, and 24 months and 25 months in 2024 and 2025\. The records cannot show why they differ. The fiscal year begins in October.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 48               | 6 months      | 98%            |
| 2017        | 34               | 15 months     | 97%            |
| 2018        | 22               | 19.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2019        | 21               | 15 months     | 100%           |
| 2020        | 16               | 18 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 19               | 6 months      | 100%           |
| 2022        | 24               | 14.6 months   | 100%           |
| 2023        | 83               | 6 months      | 95%            |
| 2024        | 49               | 24 months     | 98%            |
| 2025        | 52               | 25 months     | 98%            |

## Limits of the Records

Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data. The terms shown are those imposed, and the records do not describe the scheme or the victims in any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (368). 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 Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-alabama/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-southern-district-of-alabama/) (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.