18 U.S.C. 1029, Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Most federal defendants convicted under 18 U.S.C. 1029 were sent to prison: 2,361 of 2,830 (83%), with a median prison term of 26 months (2.2 years) on that charge. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3,135 defendants had a case end with this as the most serious charge. Of those, 88% pleaded guilty, 10%
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In brief: Most federal defendants convicted under 18 U.S.C. 1029 were sent to prison: 2,361 of 2,830 (83%), with a median prison term of 26 months (2.2 years) on that charge. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3,135 defendants had a case end with this as the most serious charge. Of those, 88% pleaded guilty, 10% had the case dismissed, and 2% went to trial.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 3,135 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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.
Prison Terms on This Charge
Convictions totaled 2,830, which is 90% of the 3,135 defendants. They include guilty pleas and guilty verdicts at trial.
Of the convicted group, 2,361 (83%) received a prison term on this charge. Among those with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 26 months, or 2.2 years.
The median is the middle term when every term is ranked from shortest to longest. It covers the sentence on this charge alone. Terms imposed on other counts in the same case are not part of it.
The Statute and the Count
Section 1029 of Title 18 carries the heading "Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices". This post identifies the statute only by that heading.
All 3,135 defendants faced the charge at the felony level. The records list no Class A misdemeanor and no petty offense under this section.
The Federal Judicial Center data counts each defendant whose case ended in the period. Dismissals and acquittals are included, so the total is wider than the group that was sentenced.
Pleas, Dismissals, and Verdicts
Guilty pleas resolved 2,765 cases (88%). Dismissals resolved 301 (10%). Trials resolved 69 (2%).
Dismissed here means the charges were dismissed. Some dismissals come on the government's motion, for example after the defendant pleaded guilty in another case. The data does not record which kind of dismissal each one was.
Of the 69 trials, 4 ended in an acquittal (6%). Juries decided 66 of the trials and acquitted in 2 (3%). Judges decided 3 bench trials and acquitted in 2 of 3. The bench trial count is too small to support a rate.
How Did the Yearly Counts Change?
Fewer cases ended under this section in the later years of the period. Fiscal year 2016 had 499, and fiscal year 2024 had 166. The records do not show why the counts fell.
The guilty plea rate stayed between 80% and 92% in every year. The lowest, 80%, came in fiscal year 2021, the same year the dismissal rate reached 19%. Trials per year ranged from 2 to 18, and no acquittal is recorded after fiscal year 2019.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 499 | 90% | 8% | 7 | 0 (0 of 7) |
| 2017 | 469 | 87% | 9% | 18 | 1 (6%) |
| 2018 | 479 | 86% | 11% | 10 | 1 (10%) |
| 2019 | 417 | 89% | 8% | 12 | 2 (17%) |
| 2020 | 305 | 90% | 9% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| 2021 | 207 | 80% | 19% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2022 | 226 | 92% | 5% | 6 | 0 (0 of 6) |
| 2023 | 198 | 87% | 12% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2024 | 166 | 91% | 8% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2025 | 169 | 88% | 10% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
Type of Counsel
CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented the largest group: 1,203 defendants (38%). Federal public or community defenders represented 998 (32%), and private (retained) counsel represented 823 (26%). 2 defendants represented themselves.
Guilty pleas ended 94% of cases with retained counsel, 92% with a federal defender, and 89% with a CJA panel attorney. Cases with a CJA panel attorney went to trial most often, 39 times, with 1 acquittal (3%). Federal defenders had 16 trials and 3 acquittals (19%). Retained counsel had 14 trials and 0 acquittals.
These numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Type of counsel is recorded at the end of the case. People who hire a lawyer and people who receive an appointed one face different charges and circumstances.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 998 | 92% | 6% | 16 | 3 (19%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 1,203 | 89% | 8% | 39 | 1 (3%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 823 | 94% | 4% | 14 | 0 (0%) |
| Self-represented | 2 | 2 of 2 | 0 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
What These Records Cannot Show
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this statute, so the post reports federal figures alone. The data does not include the facts of any case, the losses involved, or the reasons a case was dismissed or a jury acquitted.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 18 U.S.C. 1029, any subsection (3,135), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
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.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
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)
- 18 U.S.C. 1014, Loan and credit applications generally; renewals and discounts; crop insurance: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1015, Naturalization, citizenship or alien registry: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1030, Fraud and related activity in connection with computers: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1031, Major fraud against the United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- 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.