> ## 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 West Virginia, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-west-virginia/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:43.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:43.000Z - Description: Of the 184 people sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in the Southern District of West Virginia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 108 (59%) received a prison term and 46 (25%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12.5 months, which is lower than the 20 months for all 94 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 West Virginia,](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-west-virginia/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Southern District of West Virginia **In brief:** Of the 184 people sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement in the Southern District of West Virginia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 108 (59%) received a prison term and 46 (25%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12.5 months, which is lower than the 20 months for all 94 districts. Restitution was ordered for 157 people (85%). 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 184 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/). ## Probation Was Common in This Group Most federal offense types in this district end in prison for nearly everyone. This one does not. Of the 184 people, 108 (59%) received a prison term, and 46 (25%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The share sent to prison in this district was lower. Among those sent to prison here, the median prison term was 12.5 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. ## Restitution and Supervised Release Restitution was ordered for 157 of the 184 people (85%), and a fine for 14 (8%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 103 people (56%), with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 8 of the 184 people with that information recorded (4%). ## What the Offense Type Covers "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, not a single charge. In this district, nearly all cases used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), for 178 people. One person's primary guideline was §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources). These cases were 8% of the 2,416 people sentenced in the district. The median prison term for all offenses in the district is 42 months, which is higher than the 12.5 months for this group. ## Guilty Pleas and Trials Of the 184 people, 179 (97%) pleaded guilty and 5 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 24 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 5 people. Guilty pleas were 96% across all districts in this offense type and 97% for all offenses in this district. Among guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Sentences Against the Guideline Range Of the 184 sentences, 125 (68%) were within the guideline range. Another 39 (21%) were below the range without a government request, and 13 (7%) were below the range at the government's request. 7 (4%) were above the range. Within-range sentences were more common here than the 45% for all districts in this offense type. They were also more common than the 51% for all offenses in this district. ## Criminal History and Yearly Counts In criminal history, 77% were in the lowest category, category I, and 4% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The district sentenced 59 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 125 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Yearly counts range from 10 to 30 people, so the yearly medians in the table describe small groups. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 10 | 8 months | 100% | | 2017 | 12 | 14 months | 92% | | 2018 | 14 | 13 months | 100% | | 2019 | 23 | 9 months | 91% | | 2020 | 14 | 12 months | 100% | | 2021 | 13 | 21 months | 100% | | 2022 | 30 | 13.5 months | 97% | | 2023 | 21 | 21 months | 100% | | 2024 | 28 | 19.5 months | 96% | | 2025 | 19 | 8.5 months | 100% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of West Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "W Virginia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (184). 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 West Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-west-virginia/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-west-virginia/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-west-virginia/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-prison-offenses-sentences-southern-district-of-west-virginia/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-southern-district-of-west-virginia/) (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.