Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
361 people were sentenced in the Southern District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" category, and 239 of them (66%) received a prison term. The median was 21 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 274 (76%
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY201 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Southern District of Georgia
In brief: 361 people were sentenced in the Southern District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" category, and 239 of them (66%) received a prison term. The median was 21 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 274 (76%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 361 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.
Median Terms After a Plea and After a Trial
341 of the 361 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 20 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 21 months after a guilty plea and 55.5 months after a trial, based on 20 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.
The records do not show whether the groups differed in other ways, such as the size of the offense. Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Overall Prison Terms
Of the 361 people, 239 (66%) received a prison term and 105 (29%) received probation only. Probation only means no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 21 months. A quarter received 39 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. These are the terms imposed and not the time served.
How the District Compares
Nationally, 58,502 people were sentenced in this offense type. 73% were sent to prison, and the median term was 20 months. Guilty pleas were 96%.
Here, the share sent to prison was lower than the national share, and the median was about the same. The district's median for all offenses was 48 months, which is higher than the 21 months here. These cases were 9% of the 4,115 people sentenced in the district.
Guidelines and the Guideline Range
The offense type is the Commission's category. §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) was the primary guideline for 325 people, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) for 3.
Among all 361 people, 59% (213) were sentenced within the guideline range. 25% (89) were below the range at the government's request, and 11% (39) were below it without a government request. 6% (20) were above the range. Nationally, 45% were within the range, and for all offenses in the district it was 71%.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Fines
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 20 of the 337 people with that information recorded (6%). 234 people (65%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 71 people (20%).
Criminal History
76% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 4% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal Year Counts and Medians
The district sentenced 176 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 185 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts ranged from 21 to 56. A fiscal year starts on October 1.
Yearly medians ranged from 15 months to 27 months. The guilty plea share was 82% in fiscal year 2021, the lowest in the table. The records cannot show why any year differed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 49 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 56 | 21 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 35 | 21 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 36 | 25.5 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 27 | 25.5 months | 93% |
| 2021 | 34 | 15 months | 82% |
| 2022 | 36 | 15.5 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 43 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 24 | 27 months | 83% |
| 2025 | 21 | 18.5 months | 100% |
What Is Not in the Records
The Commission lists only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are absent, and the records do not give the dollar amount in each case. Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart are in this district. Military courts try courts-martial, not this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (361). 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 Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, 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.