18 U.S.C. 1031, Major fraud against the United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Under 18 U.S.C. 1031, 8 of the 51 defendants (16%) whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 went to trial, and 1 was acquitted (1 of 8). Another 29 (57%) pleaded guilty and 14 (27%) had their cases dismissed. Of the 36 convicted, 23 (64%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 18 U.S.C. 1031
In brief: Under 18 U.S.C. 1031, 8 of the 51 defendants (16%) whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 went to trial, and 1 was acquitted (1 of 8). Another 29 (57%) pleaded guilty and 14 (27%) had their cases dismissed. Of the 36 convicted, 23 (64%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 25 months (2.1 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 51 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.
The Statute Named in These Cases
Title 18, section 1031 carries the official heading "Major fraud against the United States". The post identifies the statute by that heading and nothing more.
The count covers 51 defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under this section. All 51 faced it as a felony.
Trials and Verdicts
Each of the 8 trials was a jury trial. An acquittal ended 1 of them, and the other 7 ended in a conviction. No bench trial is recorded.
Fiscal year 2017 had 4 trials and no acquittals. In that year, none of the 7 cases ended in a guilty plea. The only acquittal came in fiscal year 2019. Yearly totals were small, from 2 to 12 cases, so no single year shows a trend. A group of 8 trials is too small to yield a reliable acquittal rate.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 7 of 8 | 1 of 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 of 7 | 3 of 7 | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| 2018 | 12 | 58% | 33% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2019 | 3 | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2020 | 2 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 of 3 | 0 of 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 of 2 | 0 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 3 of 6 | 2 of 6 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2024 | 6 | 4 of 6 | 1 of 6 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
Pleas and Dismissals
Guilty pleas ended 29 cases, and dismissals ended 14. A dismissal means the charges were dismissed, and it can include a dismissal on the government's motion after a guilty plea in another case.
In all, 36 of the 51 (71%) were convicted, either by plea or at trial. The Federal Judicial Center counts every defendant whose case ended, so dismissed and acquitted defendants are part of the 51.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
A prison term on this charge was ordered for 23 of the 36 people convicted. Among those with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 25 months, or 2.1 years. The median is the middle term when all terms are listed from shortest to longest. It applies only to the sentence on this charge, not to terms on other counts in the same case.
Representation
Private (retained) counsel represented 36 defendants (71%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 8 (16%). Federal public or community defenders represented 5 (10%), and 1 defendant had no lawyer.
Retained counsel had 6 of the trials and the 1 acquittal, with 58% pleading guilty and 25% dismissed. CJA panel attorneys had 2 trials and no acquittal. All 5 federal defender cases ended in a guilty plea.
The groups are small, and the numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Type of counsel is recorded at the end of the case. Defendants who retain counsel and those given appointed counsel 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 | 5 | 5 of 5 | 0 of 5 | 0 | 0 |
| CJA panel attorney | 8 | 3 of 8 | 3 of 8 | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 36 | 58% | 25% | 6 | 1 (1 of 6) |
| Self-represented | 1 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 1 | 0 | 0 |
Beyond the Numbers
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this statute, so the post covers federal cases only. The records do not show the contracts or amounts involved or the reasons for any dismissal or verdict.
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. 1031, any subsection (51), 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. 1029, Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices: 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. 1035, False statements relating to health care matters: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1038, False information and hoaxes: 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.