> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-ohio/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:04:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:04:35.000Z - Description: In the Southern District of Ohio, 805 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 467 (58%) received a prison term and 254 (32%) received probation only, and the median prison term was 15 months. - 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 Ohio, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-ohio/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Southern District of Ohio **In brief:** In the Southern District of Ohio, 805 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of those, 467 (58%) received a prison term and 254 (32%) received probation only, and the median prison term was 15 months. 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 805 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/). ## A Large Group Received Probation Only Probation only means no prison or other confinement. It was the sentence for 254 of the 805 people (32%). In all 94 federal districts, 73% of 58,502 people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison. In this district, 58% were. The median prison term for the 467 people sent to prison was 15 months. A quarter received 31 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less. In all districts, the median was 20 months. For all offenses in the Southern District of Ohio, it was 36 months. ## What Offenses Are in This Category "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, based on the primary guideline in each case. In this district, 781 cases used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft). In 4 cases, the guideline was §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources), and 4 used §2B6.1 (Altering or Removing Motor Vehicle Identification Numbers, or Trafficking in Motor Vehicles or Parts with Altered or Obliterated Identification Numbers). The group was 14% of the 5,580 people sentenced in the district. ## Restitution Was Ordered in Most Cases Restitution, which is payment to victims, was ordered for 664 people (82%). A fine was ordered for 62 (8%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 449 people (56%), with a median term of 36 months. ## Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions Of the 805 people, 784 (97%) pleaded guilty and 21 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 15 months after a guilty plea and 36 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 19 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas. In all districts, 96% pleaded guilty. The data cannot show cases that were dismissed or ended in an acquittal, because it counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. ## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums The sentence was within the guideline range for 234 people (29%). It was below the range at the government's request for 341 (43%) and below it without a request for 219 (27%). For 7 (less than 1%), it was above the range. In all districts, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 27% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 32 of the 801 people with that information recorded (4%). ## Criminal History, Yearly Counts, and Limits In criminal history, 65% were in the lowest category and 4% in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 299 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 506\. Yearly medians in the table range from 12 months to 24 months. The records cannot show why yearly numbers differ or the dollar amounts in any case. Wright-Patterson AFB is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 85 | 24 months | 99% | | 2017 | 69 | 12 months | 97% | | 2018 | 72 | 15 months | 100% | | 2019 | 73 | 18 months | 100% | | 2020 | 77 | 17.2 months | 92% | | 2021 | 90 | 12 months | 99% | | 2022 | 76 | 12 months | 97% | | 2023 | 111 | 12 months | 98% | | 2024 | 97 | 19 months | 97% | | 2025 | 55 | 22 months | 93% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (805). 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 Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-ohio/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-southern-district-of-ohio/) (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.