> ## 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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:04:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:04:58.000Z - Description: The Western District of Tennessee sentenced 445 people for fraud, theft, or embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 350 (79%) received a prison term, and the median was 12 months, compared with 20 months for all 94 districts. A quarter of those sent to prison received 0 months or less. - 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 Tennessee, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-tennessee/) › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Western District of Tennessee **In brief:** The Western District of Tennessee sentenced 445 people for fraud, theft, or embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 350 (79%) received a prison term, and the median was 12 months, compared with 20 months for all 94 districts. A quarter of those sent to prison received 0 months or less. 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/). ## A Median of 12 Months Among the 350 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. The records give no more detail about those shortest terms. For all districts, the median was 20 months. For all offenses in the Western District of Tennessee, it was 60 months. The terms are those imposed, not time served. ## Who Received Prison and Who Received Probation Prison went to 350 of the 445 people (79%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 67 (15%). For all districts, 73% were sent to prison. Restitution was ordered for 335 people (75%), and a fine for 11 (2%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 342 (77%), with a median term of 36 months. ## One Guideline Covers Nearly All "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for an offense type. In this district, 440 people had §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft) as the primary guideline. These cases were 11% of the 4,226 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Pleas and Trials A total of 422 of 445 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 23 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 96% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was also 96%. The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 48 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 21 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums Each case has a range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. A sentence within the range was given to 212 people (48%). The figure for all districts was 45%, and for all offenses in this district it was 45%. A sentence below the range without a government request was given to 122 (27%). A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 105 (24%). A sentence above the range was given to 6 (1%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 34 of the 443 people with that information recorded (8%). In criminal history, 64% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 5% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Counts by Fiscal Year The district sentenced 249 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 196 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year begins on October 1. Yearly counts run from 25 to 73\. The median was 6 months in 2022 and 2023 and 21 months in 2024\. The records do not explain the differences. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 59 | 12 months | 98% | | 2017 | 70 | 15 months | 93% | | 2018 | 47 | 15 months | 91% | | 2019 | 73 | 12 months | 93% | | 2020 | 34 | 12 months | 97% | | 2021 | 31 | 12 months | 97% | | 2022 | 25 | 6 months | 88% | | 2023 | 27 | 6 months | 96% | | 2024 | 33 | 21 months | 94% | | 2025 | 46 | 13 months | 100% | ## What the Records Leave Out The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and the data does not describe the amounts or schemes in individual cases. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee 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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-tennessee/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/) (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.