> ## 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:14:40.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:14:40.000Z - Description: In the Western District of Louisiana, 177 of the 445 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (40%) received probation only. 262 (59%) received a prison term, and the median was 21.5 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 73% of people in this offense type we - 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-louisiana/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Western District of Louisiana **In brief:** In the Western District of Louisiana, 177 of the 445 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (40%) received probation only. 262 (59%) received a prison term, and the median was 21.5 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. 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 445 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 Only Was Common Probation only means no prison or other confinement. It was given to 40% of the people in this group, and prison to 59%. Across all districts, 73% of the 58,502 people in this offense type were sent to prison. Prison was therefore less common here than nationally. ## How Long Were Prison Terms? Among the 262 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 21.5 months. A quarter received 39.5 months or more, and a quarter received 10.5 months or less. The national median was 20 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 60 months, so these cases carried much shorter terms than the district's cases overall. The records give imposed terms, not time served. ## Restitution and Other Payments Restitution was ordered for 336 people (76%), and a fine for 82 (18%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 249 (56%), with a median term of 36 months. By criminal history, 72% were in the lowest category, category I, and 5% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Guilty Pleas and Trials Of the 445 people, 426 (96%) pleaded guilty, and 19 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 21 months. After a trial it was 60 months, based on 17 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 18 of the 400 people with that information recorded (5%). ## Guidelines and the Guideline Range Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement is one of the Commission's offense types, grouped by the main guideline used at sentencing. Of the 445 cases, 384 used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft). Another 2 used §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources), and 1 used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact). Of the 403 people with the information, 249 (62%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 41 (10%) were below it at the government's request, 96 (24%) were below it without one, and 17 (4%) were above it. For all districts, 45% were within the range. ## Counts by Year and Nearby Installations These cases were 15% of the 3,011 people sentenced in the district. There were 235 people from fiscal year 2016 to 2019 and 210 from 2020 to 2025\. Yearly counts in the table run from 21 to 73. Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The Commission data also leave out acquittals and dismissals, and they do not show the dollar amounts in these cases. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 73 | 18 months | 96% | | 2017 | 54 | 15 months | 96% | | 2018 | 53 | 30 months | 91% | | 2019 | 55 | 15 months | 98% | | 2020 | 35 | 19.5 months | 97% | | 2021 | 23 | 32 months | 96% | | 2022 | 43 | 24 months | 100% | | 2023 | 21 | 24 months | 90% | | 2024 | 47 | 24 months | 96% | | 2025 | 41 | 22.5 months | 95% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (445). 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-louisiana/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (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.