18 U.S.C. 157, Bankruptcy fraud: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 80 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with a most serious charge under 18 U.S.C. 157, 75 (94%) were convicted. None of the 3 trials ended in an acquittal. A prison term on this charge followed in 36 of the 75 convictions (48%), and the median term was 19 months.
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In brief: Of 80 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with a most serious charge under 18 U.S.C. 157, 75 (94%) were convicted. None of the 3 trials ended in an acquittal. A prison term on this charge followed in 36 of the 75 convictions (48%), and the median term was 19 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 80 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.
A Conviction Without a Prison Term Was Common
Section 157 of Title 18 has the heading "Bankruptcy fraud" in the U.S. Code. The counts here cover defendants whose most serious charge, when the case ended, was under that section.
Of the 75 convicted defendants, 36 (48%) received a prison term on the section 157 charge. The remaining convicted defendants received no prison term on it.
Among those whose term was 1 month or more, the median was 19 months. A median is the middle value of a group. Here it applies only to the 36 with a prison term.
Pleas and Dismissals
Guilty pleas ended 72 cases (90%). Charges were dismissed for 5 defendants (6%), and 3 (4%) went to trial.
The Federal Judicial Center data includes every defendant whose case ended. That means dismissed and acquitted defendants are part of the total, not only those sentenced.
In these records, a dismissal can come on the government's motion, such as after the defendant pleaded guilty in another case. A dismissal is not a verdict.
Were Any Defendants Acquitted at Trial?
No. Of the 3 trials, 0 ended in an acquittal. Juries heard 2 of them and judges heard 1 as a bench trial.
A count of 3 trials over 10 fiscal years is too small to describe how trials under this section usually end.
Level of the Charge
All 80 charges were recorded as felonies. The records show 0 Class A misdemeanors and 0 petty offenses under section 157 in this period.
Counsel at the End of the Case
The type of counsel is recorded when the case ended. Defendants who hire a lawyer and those who receive an appointed one face different charges and circumstances. The figures below describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers.
Retained private counsel represented 35 defendants (44%). In that group, 94% pleaded guilty, 6% were dismissed, and none went to trial.
A CJA panel attorney, a private lawyer appointed by the court, represented 23 defendants (29%). Of those, 91% pleaded guilty and 0% were dismissed. The 2 trials in this group ended without an acquittal (0 of 2).
A federal public or community defender represented 20 defendants (25%). The plea share was 90% and the dismissal share 5%. The single trial did not end in an acquittal (0 of 1).
Each group is small. The differences between them are too narrow to read as anything beyond the mix of cases in each.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 20 | 90% | 5% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| CJA panel attorney | 23 | 91% | 0% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 35 | 94% | 6% | 0 | 0 |
Section 157 Cases by Fiscal Year
The most cases in a single fiscal year was 13, in fiscal year 2018. The fewest was 3, in fiscal year 2023.
Fiscal years 2016 and 2020 had a 100% guilty-plea share. In fiscal year 2024, 2 of 5 cases were dismissed. Counts this small move with each case and do not show a trend.
A federal fiscal year starts on October 1 and does not line up with the calendar year.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 11 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 9 | 7 of 9 | 1 of 9 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2018 | 13 | 92% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 12 | 92% | 0% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2020 | 10 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 of 4 | 0 of 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 8 | 7 of 8 | 0 of 8 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2023 | 3 | 3 of 3 | 0 of 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 5 | 3 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 5 | 4 of 5 | 1 of 5 | 0 | 0 |
Beyond What the Records Hold
There is no close court-martial counterpart for section 157 in the approved crosswalk. The numbers are federal only.
A defendant appears here only if section 157 was the most serious charge at the end of the case. The data does not record why prosecutors dismissed charges, why defendants pleaded guilty, or why a judge chose a prison term or none.
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. 157, any subsection (80), 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. 117, Domestic assault by an habitual offender: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 152, Concealment of assets; false oaths and claims; bribery: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 201, Bribery of public officials and witnesses: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 228, Failure to pay legal child support obligations: 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.