18 U.S.C. 1343, Fraud by wire, radio, or television: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Between fiscal years 2016 and 2025, 6,960 federal defendants had a case end with 18 U.S.C. 1343 as the most serious charge, and 6,337 (91%) pleaded guilty. Of the 312 who went to trial, 54 (17%) were acquitted. Bench trials ended in an acquittal more often than jury trials: 61% compared with 14%.
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In brief: Between fiscal years 2016 and 2025, 6,960 federal defendants had a case end with 18 U.S.C. 1343 as the most serious charge, and 6,337 (91%) pleaded guilty. Of the 312 who went to trial, 54 (17%) were acquitted. Bench trials ended in an acquittal more often than jury trials: 61% compared with 14%.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 6,960 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.
Jury Trials and Bench Trials
In the U.S. Code, this section is headed "Fraud by wire, radio, or television". That heading is the only description of the statute in this post.
Trials ended 312 cases (4%). Juries decided 289 of them and acquitted in 40 (14%). Judges sitting without a jury decided 23 and acquitted in 14 (61%).
The bench trial rate rests on 23 cases. Bench trials and jury trials may involve different kinds of cases in ways the records do not show. The records cannot show whether the type of trial made any difference to the verdict.
Pleas, Dismissals, and Convictions
A guilty plea was the most common ending, with 6,337 cases (91%). Dismissal ended 311 (4%).
Dismissals in these records include charges dismissed on the government's motion, for example after the defendant pleaded guilty in another case. A dismissal under this section therefore does not always mean a case ended without any conviction.
Overall, 6,595 of the 6,960 (95%) were convicted, by plea or at trial. Every charge counted was a felony.
Prison Terms on This Charge
Of the 6,595 convicted, 5,285 (80%) received a prison term on this charge. For those with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 27 months (2.2 years).
A median is the midpoint of all the terms put in order. The figure covers this charge only. A defendant convicted on other counts in the same case may have served a different total term.
Counsel Type and Case Endings
Private (retained) counsel represented 3,218 defendants (46%). Federal public or community defenders represented 1,955 (28%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 1,679 (24%). Self-represented defendants numbered 10.
Each of the 3 lawyer groups pleaded guilty in at least 90% of cases and had 3% dismissed. Retained counsel had 149 trials with 30 acquittals (20%). CJA panel attorneys had 109 trials with 15 acquittals (14%). Federal defenders had 52 trials with 9 acquittals (17%).
The comparison is between groups of cases. It does not show the quality of lawyers. Type of counsel is recorded at the end of the case, and defendants who hire counsel face different charges and circumstances from those who are given counsel.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 1,955 | 94% | 3% | 52 | 9 (17%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 1,679 | 90% | 3% | 109 | 15 (14%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 3,218 | 92% | 3% | 149 | 30 (20%) |
| Self-represented | 10 | 40% | 40% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
Cases in Each Fiscal Year
Yearly totals were lowest in fiscal year 2020, with 461, and highest in fiscal year 2024, with 932. Guilty pleas ended between 87% and 93% of cases each year.
Trial acquittals varied by year. Fiscal year 2024 had 10 acquittals in 39 trials (26%). Fiscal year 2021 had 1 in 11 (9%). The table lists each year without implying a direction over time.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 692 | 89% | 4% | 45 | 11 (24%) |
| 2017 | 683 | 92% | 3% | 33 | 5 (15%) |
| 2018 | 681 | 87% | 6% | 45 | 11 (24%) |
| 2019 | 645 | 93% | 3% | 30 | 2 (7%) |
| 2020 | 461 | 92% | 4% | 17 | 2 (12%) |
| 2021 | 501 | 92% | 5% | 11 | 1 (9%) |
| 2022 | 680 | 90% | 6% | 30 | 3 (10%) |
| 2023 | 764 | 91% | 5% | 31 | 6 (19%) |
| 2024 | 932 | 92% | 4% | 39 | 10 (26%) |
| 2025 | 921 | 92% | 5% | 31 | 3 (10%) |
Scope and Limits
The Federal Judicial Center count includes every defendant whose case ended, not only those sentenced, and assigns each to the most serious charge at the end of the case. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this statute.
The records do not describe what any defendant did, how much money was involved, or what evidence was offered. They do not explain any verdict or dismissal.
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. 1343, any subsection (6,960), 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. 1204, International parental kidnapping: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1341, Frauds and swindles: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1344, Bank fraud: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1347, Health care fraud: 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.