Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
Of the 270 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 161 (60%) received a prison term and 88 (33%) received probation only. In all 94 federal districts together, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The me
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY20 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Southern District of Illinois
In brief: Of the 270 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 161 (60%) received a prison term and 88 (33%) received probation only. In all 94 federal districts together, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The median prison term here was 24 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 270 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.
Probation Only Was Common
88 of the 270 people (33%) in this offense type received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The share sent to prison, 60%, was lower than the 73% for this offense type across all 94 districts.
The other offense types in this district more often ended in prison. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 71 months, higher than the 24 months for this group.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
Among the 161 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 37 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The median across all districts was 20 months.
Terms are those imposed by the court, not time served. The table gives the yearly counts and medians. With 19 to 37 people in each year, a few long sentences can change a median, so single years should be read with care.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 37 | 28 months | 97% |
| 2017 | 30 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 29 | 12 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 30 | 26 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 19 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 21 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 22 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 21 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 28 | 12.6 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 33 | 36 months | 94% |
Pleas and the 6 Trials
264 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 21 months after a guilty plea and 174 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 6 people.
74% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 25% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Anyone acquitted or whose case was dismissed does not appear.
Money Orders and Supervised Release
Restitution, which is money paid to victims, was ordered for 217 people (80%). A fine was ordered for 62 (23%).
156 people (58%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
Guideline Range, Mandatory Minimums, and Criminal History
144 of the sentences (54%) were within the guideline range. 71 (27%) were below it at the government's request, and 42 (16%) were below it without that request. 9 (3%) were above it. Across all districts, 45% of sentences in this offense type were within the range.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 47 of the 267 people with that information recorded (18%). 73% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 4% were in the highest, category VI.
The most common primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 259 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) applied to 1.
Place in the District and What Is Missing
These cases were 10% of the 2,576 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 126 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 144.
The records do not show the amount of loss, the victims, or the reasons for any individual sentence. Scott AFB, Illinois, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (270). 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 Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, 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.