18 U.S.C. 656, Theft, embezzlement, or misapplication by bank officer or employee: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Most people convicted under 18 U.S.C. 656 received a prison term on that charge: 287 of 321 (89%), with a median term of 15.5 months. The records cover 348 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 89% pleaded guilty, 7% had their charges dismissed, and 14 went to trial.
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In brief: Most people convicted under 18 U.S.C. 656 received a prison term on that charge: 287 of 321 (89%), with a median term of 15.5 months. The records cover 348 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 89% pleaded guilty, 7% had their charges dismissed, and 14 went to trial.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 348 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 Were Common
Section 656 of Title 18 is headed "Theft, embezzlement, or misapplication by bank officer or employee". Of the 321 defendants convicted with this as the most serious charge at the end of the case, 287 (89%) received a prison term on it.
For terms of 1 month or more, the median was 15.5 months. The median is the middle term when they are lined up from shortest to longest. It reflects only the sentence on the section 656 charge.
Charge Level
339 defendants (97%) faced a felony under this section when the case ended. 9 (3%) faced a Class A misdemeanor, and none faced a petty offense.
Pleas, Dismissals, and Trials
310 of the 348 defendants (89%) pleaded guilty. 24 (7%) had their charges dismissed. The Federal Judicial Center counts a dismissal for any dropped charge, including a dismissal on the government's motion after a guilty plea in another case.
14 defendants (4%) went to trial, and 3 of those trials ended in an acquittal (21%). Juries decided 12 trials and acquitted 2. Judges decided 2 bench trials and acquitted 1. Overall, 321 of the 348 (92%) were convicted.
Type of Counsel at the End of the Case
The counsel figures below describe groups of cases. They are not a measure of how well any lawyer performed. Defendants who retain a lawyer and those assigned one can face different charges and situations.
Private retained counsel represented 165 defendants (47%). 94% of them pleaded guilty, 7 went to trial, and 3 of those 7 were acquitted.
Federal public or community defenders represented 127 (36%), with 91% pleading guilty. 4 went to trial and none was acquitted. CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers the court appoints, represented 45 (13%), with 89% pleading guilty. 3 went to trial and none was acquitted.
Trial numbers this small do not support conclusions about any group.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 127 | 91% | 6% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| CJA panel attorney | 45 | 89% | 4% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 165 | 94% | 2% | 7 | 3 (3 of 7) |
Cases by Year
Fiscal year 2016 had the most cases end, at 71. Fiscal year 2025 had the fewest, at 18. Each federal fiscal year begins on October 1.
All 3 acquittals in the period came in fiscal year 2019, when 3 trials took place. Fiscal years 2020 through 2022 had no trials under this section.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 71 | 92% | 7% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2017 | 51 | 86% | 10% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2018 | 49 | 86% | 8% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2019 | 44 | 86% | 7% | 3 | 3 (3 of 3) |
| 2020 | 26 | 92% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 22 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 22 | 82% | 18% | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 25 | 96% | 0% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2024 | 20 | 85% | 5% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2025 | 18 | 89% | 0% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
What the Numbers Leave Out
The records identify a case by its most serious charge at the end, so charges that changed during the case can move a defendant into or out of this count. The data does not include the facts alleged, the amount involved, the reasons for a dismissal, or the terms of any plea agreement. It cannot show whether a different lawyer would have changed the result in any case.
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. 656, any subsection (348), 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. 554, Smuggling goods from the United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 641, Public money, property or records: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 659, Interstate or foreign shipments by carrier; State prosecutions: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 661, Within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction: 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.