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# Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:06:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:06:33.000Z
- Description: 217 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 156 (72%) received a prison term, and 44 (20%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 federal districts.
- 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 Iowa, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-iowa/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Southern District of Iowa

**In brief:** 217 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 156 (72%) received a prison term, and 44 (20%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 federal districts.

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 217 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 Median Term

Of the 217 people sentenced, 156 (72%) went to prison. In all 94 districts, 73% of people in this offense type went to prison, which is about the same.

The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 6.2 months or less. The all-district median was 20 months, which is a little higher. The median for all offenses in the Southern District of Iowa was 80 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## One Guideline Dominated

215 of the 217 cases used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) as the primary guideline. The records here do not separate fraud from theft or embezzlement.

These cases were 5% of the 4,208 people sentenced in the district. The records do not show the dollar loss in each case.

## Restitution Was Usual

Restitution was ordered for 167 people (77%), and a fine for 25 (12%). 150 people (69%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 215 people with that information recorded (less than 1%). On criminal history, 66% were in the lowest category, and 4% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Sentences and the Guideline Range

216 people had the range information recorded. 84 (39%) were sentenced within the range. 77 (36%) were below it without a government request, and 52 (24%) were below it at the government's request. 3 (1%) were above it.

In all 94 districts, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 37% were within it.

## Guilty Pleas and the Few Trials

211 of the 217 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 19 months. After a trial it was 12 months, based on 6 people. With 6 people at trial, that figure is not a reliable comparison.

## Yearly Counts

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 100 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 117 people. Yearly counts in the table range from 10 to 28 people. Yearly medians range from 11.5 months in fiscal year 2021 to 24 months in fiscal years 2017 and 2018.

The yearly figures do not move in one direction. The records cannot show why a year differed from another.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 28               | 14 months     | 93%            |
| 2017        | 28               | 24 months     | 96%            |
| 2018        | 21               | 24 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 23               | 12 months     | 91%            |
| 2020        | 14               | 19.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2021        | 23               | 11.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2022        | 24               | 17.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2023        | 22               | 21 months     | 95%            |
| 2024        | 10               | 20.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2025        | 24               | 22.5 months   | 100%           |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not show the amount of money involved, the victims, or the reasons for a sentence.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (217). 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 Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-iowa/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (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.