18 U.S.C. 669, Theft or embezzlement in connection with health care: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Federal charges under 18 U.S.C. 669 were split between felonies (68, or 49%) and Class A misdemeanors (71, or 51%) among the 139 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 133 who were convicted (96%), 44 (33%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 18 months.
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In brief: Federal charges under 18 U.S.C. 669 were split between felonies (68, or 49%) and Class A misdemeanors (71, or 51%) among the 139 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 133 who were convicted (96%), 44 (33%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 18 months. None of the 5 trials ended in an acquittal.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 139 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.
Charge Level: Felony or Misdemeanor
The level of the most serious charge at the end of the case was a Class A misdemeanor for 71 defendants (51%) and a felony for 68 (49%). No petty offenses were listed.
The records show the level of the final charge only, and they do not say whether a charge was reduced along the way.
Was Prison Ordered?
Among the 133 people convicted, 44 (33%) received a prison term on this charge. The others had no prison term recorded on this count.
For terms of 1 month or more, the median was 18 months. That is the middle value of the ordered terms. It does not show how long the longest terms were.
The records do not connect a given prison term to the level of the charge in a way this post can report, so the 33% figure covers felony and misdemeanor convictions together.
The Section Heading and the Data Source
Title 18, section 669 of the U.S. Code is headed "Theft or embezzlement in connection with health care". The count includes all subsections.
The Federal Judicial Center data used here counts each defendant whose case ended in the period, including people whose charges were dismissed and people found not guilty.
Pleas, Dismissals, and Trials
Guilty pleas resolved 128 of the 139 cases (92%). Dismissals resolved 6 (4%). A dismissal can include a charge the government moved to drop, for example once the person had pleaded guilty in a separate case.
Only 5 defendants (4%) went to trial, and all 5 trials were before a jury. Each trial ended in a conviction (0 of 5 acquitted). No bench trials appear.
Retained and Appointed Counsel
Private (retained) counsel represented 74 defendants (53%) at the end of the case. That group had 95% guilty pleas, 4% dismissals, and 1 trial.
Federal public or community defenders represented 31 (22%), with 87% guilty pleas, 6% dismissals, and 2 trials. CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 33 (24%), with 94% guilty pleas, 0% dismissals, and 2 trials. No trial in any group ended in an acquittal.
Each group handled a different set of cases. Whether a defendant hires a lawyer or receives one by appointment relates to charges and circumstances, so these numbers describe groups of cases and not the quality of lawyers.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 31 | 87% | 6% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| CJA panel attorney | 33 | 94% | 0% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 74 | 95% | 4% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
Cases Ended Per Fiscal Year
The yearly totals were small. The most cases ended in fiscal year 2018 (28), and the fewest in fiscal year 2022 (3). Fiscal years 2020 through 2024 each had 9 or fewer.
No year had more than 2 trials. Counts this small cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 27 | 96% | 4% | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 21 | 95% | 5% | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 28 | 86% | 7% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2019 | 19 | 89% | 5% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2020 | 9 | 9 of 9 | 0 of 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 9 | 8 of 9 | 0 of 9 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2022 | 3 | 3 of 3 | 0 of 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 7 | 6 of 7 | 0 of 7 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2024 | 4 | 4 of 4 | 0 of 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 12 | 92% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
Gaps in the Record
The data lists results, not the facts of any case or the reasons behind a plea or dismissal. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so the post covers federal court only.
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. 669, any subsection (139), 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. 661, Within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 666, Theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 751, Prisoners in custody of institution or officer: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 758, High speed flight from immigration checkpoint: 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.