> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-tax-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:12:52.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:12:52.000Z - Description: The District of Rhode Island sentenced 23 people for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 13 of them (57%) received probation only, and 4 (17%) were sent to prison. Across all 94 federal districts, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-rhode-island/) › Tax Offense: District of Rhode Island **In brief:** The District of Rhode Island sentenced 23 people for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 13 of them (57%) received probation only, and 4 (17%) were sent to prison. Across all 94 federal districts, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 23 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Probation Only Was the Most Common Result "Tax" is a category in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's data. In this district, 13 of the 23 people in it (57%) were sentenced to probation, with no prison or other confinement. Another 4 (17%) went to prison. Nationally, 66% of 5,024 people sentenced for tax offenses went to prison. The district's share was lower. Only convicted people are in the data. ## A Median Based on 4 People The 4 people who went to prison had a median term of 28.5 months (2.4 years). A quarter received 33.8 months or more, and a quarter received 19.5 months or less. The national median for this offense type was 15.1 months. A group of 4 people is too small to say much on its own. The median for all offenses in the district was 33 months. The terms are those imposed by the court, not time served. ## Orders to Pay: Restitution and Fines Restitution means repaying money owed. Courts ordered it for 19 of the 23 people (83%) and ordered fines for 7 (30%). Supervised release after prison applied to 4 people (17%), for a median of 36 months. ## Sentences Relative to the Guideline Range Only 3 of the 23 sentences (13%) were inside the guideline range. 11 (48%) were below it without a government request, and 9 (39%) were below it at the government's request. None was above. For tax offenses across all districts, 24% of sentences were inside the range. For all offenses in this district, 22% were. No mandatory minimum applied to anyone in this group. ## Pleas and Criminal History Each of the 23 people (100%) pleaded guilty, with no trial convictions. The national guilty plea rate for this offense type was 93%, and the rate for all offenses in the district was 98%. 96% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. In criminal history, 83% were in the lowest category I and 0% in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Which Guidelines and Which Years §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) was the primary guideline for 18 people. §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) applied to 4, and §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) applied to 1. Tax cases were 2% of the 1,015 people the district sentenced. The district sentenced 9 in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 14 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table has 1 to 6 people per year and shows "n/a" where no median is given. Counts this small show no trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 2 | 6 months | 2 of 2 | | 2018 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 | | 2019 | 6 | 24 months | 6 of 6 | | 2020 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 | | 2021 | 2 | 36 months | 2 of 2 | | 2022 | 4 | 33 months | 4 of 4 | | 2023 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 | | 2024 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 | | 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 | ## What Is Not in the Records The data has no figures for the tax amounts involved and does not explain why a court chose probation over prison. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Rhode Island (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Rhode Island") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (23). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories. 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 **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **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. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-rhode-island/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.