Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of New York, 27 of the 34 people sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (79%) received a sentence below the guideline range without a government request. Only 3 (9%) were within the range. The median prison term was 13.5 months, and 16 people (47%) received
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In brief: In the Northern District of New York, 27 of the 34 people sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (79%) received a sentence below the guideline range without a government request. Only 3 (9%) were within the range. The median prison term was 13.5 months, and 16 people (47%) received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 34 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.
Most Sentences Were Below the Guideline Range
Of the 34 people, 27 (79%) were sentenced below the guideline range without a request from the government. Another 4 (12%) were below the range at the government's request, and 3 (9%) were within it. None was above the range.
For tax cases in all 94 federal districts, 24% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 53%. The records do not show the reason for any individual sentence.
Prison and Probation
A total of 16 of the 34 people (47%) received a prison term, and 16 (47%) received probation only. In all districts, 66% of people sentenced for tax offenses went to prison.
The median prison term was 13.5 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 9 months or less. The all-districts median was 15.1 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 24 months.
Restitution and Other Orders
Restitution was ordered for 32 people (94%), and a fine for 8 (24%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 16 people (47%), with a median term of 24 months.
No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 34 people.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 31 of 34 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The rate in all districts was 93%.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 20 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 3 people. Among guilty pleas, 87% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas.
The Tax Guidelines in These Cases
"Tax" is the offense type the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns from the primary guideline. The most common was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), with 20 people, followed by §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), with 10.
Each of 2 other guidelines applied to 2 people: §2T1.9 (Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax) and §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax).
Tax cases were less than 1% of the 3,763 people sentenced in the district. On criminal history, 91% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 12 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 22. A fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends at the end of the following September.
Yearly counts range from 1 to 9, and 4 years have no median listed. The records do not support describing a trend from groups this small.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 18 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 5 | 13.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 9 | 19 months | 6 of 9 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 6 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2025 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Fort Drum, New York, is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and not in this federal court.
The records do not show the amount of tax involved.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (34). 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 Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of New York, 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.