Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of Florida, 3,812 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 87% received a prison term, with a median of 29 months. In all 94 federal districts, 73% were sent to prison, with a median of 20 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY201 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Southern District of Florida
In brief: In the Southern District of Florida, 3,812 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 87% received a prison term, with a median of 29 months. In all 94 federal districts, 73% were sent to prison, with a median of 20 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,812 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.
Prison Terms Compared With Other Districts
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" includes 3,812 people sentenced in this district. 3,323 (87%) received a prison term, and 286 (8%) received probation only.
Across all 94 districts, the Commission counted 58,502 people in this offense type. 73% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 20 months. Both the prison share and the median were higher in this district.
These cases were 22% of the 17,081 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses here, the median prison term was 32 months.
How Long the Terms Were
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 29 months (2.4 years). A quarter received 48 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,093 of the 3,784 people with that information recorded (29%).
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
A total of 3,613 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 199 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 96% pleaded guilty.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 27 months. After a trial it was 60 months, based on 192 people sent to prison. The records do not show why trial and plea terms differ.
Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas.
Sentences and the Guideline Range
Of the 3,727 people with guideline information, 1,911 (51%) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request applied to 544 people (15%), and below the range without a government request to 1,214 people (33%). 58 people (2%) were above the range.
For all 94 districts, 45% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%.
Restitution and Supervised Release
Restitution was ordered for 3,070 people (81%), and a fine for 116 (3%). Supervised release was ordered for 3,292 people (86%), with a median term of 36 months. 1 person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life.
In criminal history, 77% were in the lowest category, category I, and 2% were in the highest, VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Guidelines in These Cases
Nearly all cases used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 3,561 people. Others used §2B1.4 (Insider Trading), 6 people; §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources), 3 people; and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), 2 people.
The Commission's category groups many kinds of cases together, so the records here cannot separate one kind of fraud from another.
The Yearly Record and Its Limits
A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September. The yearly count of people sentenced ranged from 186 in fiscal year 2021 to 603 in fiscal year 2017. The yearly median prison term was 33 months in fiscal year 2016 and 24 months in fiscal years 2023 and 2025.
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of this data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 549 | 33 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 603 | 28 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 535 | 30 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 418 | 30 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 292 | 30 months | 95% |
| 2021 | 186 | 27 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 422 | 27 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 299 | 24 months | 93% |
| 2024 | 288 | 25 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 220 | 24 months | 95% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (3,812). 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 Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, 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.