Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 80 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. 49 (61%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, and 22 (28%) received probation only. Only 13% of sentences were within the guideline range, compared with 24% across all 94 di
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY › Tax Offense: Middle District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 80 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. 49 (61%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, and 22 (28%) received probation only. Only 13% of sentences were within the guideline range, compared with 24% across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 80 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.
Rarely Within the Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 13% of the 80 cases (10 people). Below the range without a government request were 58% (46 people), and below the range at the government's request were 30% (24 people). None was above the range.
For tax offenses across all districts, 24% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 47%.
The records do not say why sentences were set below the range.
Prison and Probation
49 of the 80 people (61%) received a prison term, and 22 (28%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 5,024 people were in this offense type, and 66% were sent to prison.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. The national median was 15.1 months, and the median for all offenses in this district was 46 months.
Time actually served is not in the records.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 18 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 9 | 12 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2018 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2019 | 8 | 15 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2020 | 2 | 14.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 9 | 12 months | 7 of 9 |
| 2022 | 15 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 10 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 11 | 19.5 months | 82% |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 |
Which Guidelines Applied
"Tax" is the Commission's offense type, grouped by the primary sentencing guideline. §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) was listed for 41 people. §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) was listed for 27.
§2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) was listed for 11, and §2T1.9 (Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax) for 1. Tax cases were 2% of the 4,067 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas and Trials
76 of 80 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 46.5 months, based on 4 people. Written plea agreements were part of 96% of the guilty pleas, and 4% were straight pleas.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervision
Restitution was ordered for 63 people (79%), and a fine for 14 (18%).
Supervised release followed prison for 50 people (63%), with a median term of 24 months. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 80 people with that information recorded (0%).
Criminal History and Yearly Counts
Criminal history was mostly in the lowest category I (86%), with 1% in category VI. Military records have no such field.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 28 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 52. The largest year is 2022, with 15 people. The median is 12 months in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023, and 0 months in 2025, a year with 5 people.
What the Records Cannot Show
A person who was acquitted, or whose case was dismissed, is absent from these numbers. Nothing here describes what happened in a particular case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (80). 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 Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 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.