Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
17 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the District of South Dakota in the fiscal year 2016 to 2025 data. 12 of the 17 (71%) received a prison term, with a median of 14 months. 10 people (59%) received a sentence below the guideline range without a government request.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–20 › Tax Offense: District of South Dakota
In brief: 17 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the District of South Dakota in the fiscal year 2016 to 2025 data. 12 of the 17 (71%) received a prison term, with a median of 14 months. 10 people (59%) received a sentence below the guideline range without a government request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 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 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.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range
The most distinctive number for this group is the position of sentences against the guideline range. 10 of the 17 people (59%) were sentenced below the range without a request from the government. 1 person (6%) was sentenced below the range at the government's request. 6 people (35%) were sentenced within the range, and none were above it.
For all 94 federal districts, 24% of the 5,024 people sentenced for tax offenses received a sentence within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 57%. The tax group was within the range less often than either.
Prison Terms and Probation
12 of the 17 people (71%) received a prison term, and 3 (18%) received probation only. For all districts, 66% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 14 months. A quarter received 25.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. For all districts the median was 15.1 months. For all offenses in the District of South Dakota, it was 36 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Pleas and Trials
14 of the 17 people (82%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, guilty pleas were 93% of tax cases. For all offenses in this district, they were 95%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 13 months. After a trial it was 36 months, based on 3 people. A group that small shows what happened in these cases and does not show a rule. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 17 people.
What Tax Offense Type Means Here
"Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, based on the primary guideline in each case. The most common was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), for 11 people. Next was §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax), for 5. The last was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), for 1.
Tax cases were less than 1% of the 5,041 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
11 people (65%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 people (29%). Restitution was ordered for 16 people (94%).
76% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category. 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Cases by Fiscal Year
8 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 9 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Most years had 1 to 3 people, and 2016 had 5. Counts this small do not show a trend.
The median shown for 2023 and 2024 is n/a, which means the data has no median there.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 15 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2017 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 3 | 3 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 2 | 24.5 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
Limits of the Data
Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
The Commission's data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. It has no acquittals or dismissals, and it does not show why any sentence was below the range.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (17). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.