Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
Of 650 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Western District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 62% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Restitution was ordered for 517 (80%), and 153 (24%) received probation only.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, F › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Western District of Pennsylvania
In brief: Of 650 people sentenced for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in the Western District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 62% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Restitution was ordered for 517 (80%), and 153 (24%) received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 650 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Restitution and Probation
Restitution was ordered for 517 of the 650 people (80%) in the "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" offense type. A fine was ordered for 73 (11%).
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 153 people (24%). Another 402 (62%) received a prison term.
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
Across all 94 federal districts, 73% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 20 months. In this district the share sent to prison was lower, and the median prison term was about the same.
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 48 months, so fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases had a lower median.
The Guideline Range
Of the 650 people, 289 (44%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 197 (30%) were sentenced below the range without a government request, and 156 (24%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. A total of 8 (1%) were sentenced above the range.
Across all districts, 45% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. The share here was about the same. For all offenses in this district, 38% were within the range.
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
Of the 650 people, 635 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 15 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 96% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 69 months, based on 14 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among guilty pleas, 84% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.
What the Category Covers
The Commission assigns the offense type from the primary guideline. §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) was the primary guideline for 610 people. §2B1.4 (Insider Trading) was the primary guideline for 2.
These cases were 15% of the 4,460 people sentenced in the district in the period. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 49 of the 633 people with that information recorded (8%).
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 387 people (60%), with a median term of 36 months.
In criminal history, 65% were in the lowest category and 6% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year and Limits of the Records
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 272 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 378. The table lists each fiscal year, which runs from October through September. Yearly counts range from 42 to 103 people, and the yearly medians range from 10 months to 24 months.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show the amount of loss in any case.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 75 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 64 | 13 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 91 | 21 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 42 | 15 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 58 | 18 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 61 | 24 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 103 | 12 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 56 | 10 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 53 | 22.5 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 47 | 16 months | 96% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (650). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.