> ## 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 Missouri, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:36:21.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:36:21.000Z - Description: Of the 575 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Western District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 321 (56%) received a prison term and 222 (39%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). Restitution was ordered for 505 people (88%). - 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 Missouri, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-missouri/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Western District of Missouri **In brief:** Of the 575 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Western District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 321 (56%) received a prison term and 222 (39%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). Restitution was ordered for 505 people (88%). 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 575 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/). ## Restitution and Probation in Many Cases Restitution was ordered for 505 of the 575 people (88%). A fine was ordered for 22 (4%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 318 (55%), with a median term of 36 months. 222 people (39%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 federal districts, 73% of the 58,502 people in this offense type were sent to prison. The share here was lower. ## Length of Prison Terms Among the 321 people sent to prison, a quarter received 41 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The median was 24 months, compared with 20 months for all districts. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 72 months. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement terms were much shorter than that. ## How the Cases Ended 563 of 575 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 12 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 96% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas here, 94% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas. The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea and 52.5 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 10 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. ## What Is in This Offense Type The U.S. Sentencing Commission groups these cases by primary guideline. 564 of the 575 people were sentenced under §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), and 1 under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact). These cases were 8% of the 7,571 people sentenced in the district over the period. ## The Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums The range was recorded for 565 people. 44% (246) were within it. 34% (190) were below it without a government request, and 18% (104) were below it at the government's request. 4% (25) were above it. For all districts, 45% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 41 of the 572 people with that information recorded (7%). In criminal history, 66% were in category I, the lowest, and 7% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Yearly Counts and Medians Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 264 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 311\. The table shows 96 people in fiscal year 2016, the most in any year, and 34 in fiscal year 2021, the fewest. Yearly medians range from 15 months to 35 months. The records cannot show why they differ. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 96 | 15 months | 98% | | 2017 | 65 | 35 months | 97% | | 2018 | 51 | 15 months | 100% | | 2019 | 52 | 24 months | 98% | | 2020 | 40 | 33 months | 95% | | 2021 | 34 | 28 months | 100% | | 2022 | 48 | 16 months | 96% | | 2023 | 63 | 31.4 months | 98% | | 2024 | 76 | 22.8 months | 100% | | 2025 | 50 | 16 months | 96% | ## What Is Missing From the Records Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and the terms are those imposed rather than those served. Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman AFB are in this district. Their courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of this federal count. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (575). 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 Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-missouri/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (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.