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# Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:21.000Z
- Description: In the Western District of Michigan, 498 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 344 (69%) received a prison term and 122 (24%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months, compared with 20 months across all 94 federal district
- 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 Michigan, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-michigan/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Western District of Michigan

**In brief:** In the Western District of Michigan, 498 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of them, 344 (69%) received a prison term and 122 (24%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 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 498 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 Restitution

Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement is one of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense types. It groups cases by the main guideline used at sentencing, and 481 of the 498 cases here used §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft).

In this district, 69% of the people in this type were sent to prison, compared with 73% across all districts. Probation only was given to 24% of the district's group.

Restitution was ordered for 422 people (85%), and a fine for 105 (21%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 328 people (66%), with a median term of 36 months.

## How Long Were the Prison Terms?

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 45 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.

The district's median for all offenses was 51 months, so these cases carried shorter terms than the district's cases as a whole. The terms are the sentences imposed, not time served.

## Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials

Of the 498 people, 479 (96%) pleaded guilty, and 19 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 82% had a written plea agreement and 17% were straight pleas with no agreement.

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. The records do not show what differed between the cases, so the gap cannot be explained from this data.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 44 of the 492 people with that information recorded (9%).

A sentence within the guideline range was given to 285 people (57%). 68 sentences (14%) were below the range at the government's request, and 129 (26%) were below it without a government request. 16 sentences (3%) were above the range. Across all districts, 45% of sentences in this offense type were within the range, and the district's figure for all offenses was 54%.

## Criminal History

By criminal history, 69% were in the lowest category, category I, and 4% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Fewer Cases in Recent Years

These cases were 16% of the 3,034 people sentenced in the district. From fiscal year 2016 to 2019 there were 297 people, and from 2020 to 2025 there were 201.

The yearly table shows 74 people in fiscal year 2016 and 32 in 2025\. Yearly medians run from 14.5 months to 40.5 months. The records do not show why the counts or medians changed from year to year.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 74               | 21 months     | 96%            |
| 2017        | 90               | 18 months     | 93%            |
| 2018        | 61               | 14.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2019        | 72               | 22.5 months   | 99%            |
| 2020        | 31               | 25.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2021        | 30               | 36 months     | 93%            |
| 2022        | 38               | 30 months     | 95%            |
| 2023        | 37               | 22 months     | 100%           |
| 2024        | 33               | 40.5 months   | 91%            |
| 2025        | 32               | 38.5 months   | 94%            |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the records do not break down the dollar amounts or kinds of conduct behind each sentence.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (498). 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 Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-michigan/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/) (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.