Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
Of the 20 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 11 (55%) received probation only and 6 (30%) received a prison term. In all 94 federal districts together, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The median prison term her
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY20 › Tax Offense: Southern District of Illinois
In brief: Of the 20 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 11 (55%) received probation only and 6 (30%) received a prison term. In all 94 federal districts together, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The median prison term here was 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 20 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.
More Probation Than Prison
11 of the 20 people (55%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 6 (30%) were sent to prison. For this offense type in all districts, 66% were sent to prison.
Among the 6 sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 13.5 months or less. The median across all districts was 15.1 months. The figures are the terms imposed by the court.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 21.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 6 | 18 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 4 | 18 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 30 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 0 of 1 |
Sentences Mostly Below the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the recommended span calculated for each case. Only 2 of the 20 sentences (10%) were within it. 12 (60%) were below it at the government's request, and 6 (30%) were below it without that request. None was above it.
Tax sentences across all districts were within the range 24% of the time, and sentences for all offenses in this district were within it 55% of the time. The records do not show the reasons for any request.
Guidelines and Share of the District
Of the guidelines listed as primary, the most common primary guideline was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), with 13 people. §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) applied to 6, and §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) to 1.
Tax cases were less than 1% of the 2,576 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 17 of the people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 3.
Pleas
19 of the 20 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. 84% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 16% were straight pleas.
A person whose case ended in acquittal or dismissal would not be counted here, because the source lists only those sentenced after a conviction.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release
Restitution was ordered for 16 people (80%), and a fine for 1 (5%). 6 people (30%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 27 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 20 people. 75% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI.
Small Counts and What They Cannot Show
The table lists no more than 6 people in any year, and several years have 1 or 2. Medians for those years rest on very few people and do not show a trend.
The records do not show the amount of tax involved. Scott AFB, Illinois, lies in the district. Soldiers and airmen there face courts-martial in military courts, which are separate from these federal cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (20). 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 Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, 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.