Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
42 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 35 (83%) received a prison term, with a median of 30 months (2.5 years). In all 94 districts, 66% were sent to prison and the median was 15.1 months.
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In brief: 42 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 35 (83%) received a prison term, with a median of 30 months (2.5 years). In all 94 districts, 66% were sent to prison and the median was 15.1 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 42 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.
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
35 of the 42 people (83%) received a prison term, and 6 (14%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The share sent to prison was higher than the 66% for tax cases in all 94 districts.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 30 months. A quarter received 46 months or more, and a quarter received 17 months or less. The median for all districts was 15.1 months, and the median for every offense type in this district was 48 months.
Aiding Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion
"Tax" is the Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), with 21 people. §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) applied to 16.
§2T2.1 (Non-Payment of Taxes) and §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) each applied to 2. Tax cases were 1% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district.
Restitution in Nearly Every Case
Restitution was ordered for 39 of the 42 people (93%). A fine was ordered for 8 (19%).
35 people (83%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
52% of the 42 people (22) were sentenced within the guideline range. For all districts the share was 24%, and for every offense type in this district it was 69%.
24% (10) were below the range without a government request, and 19% (8) were below it at the government's request. 5% (2) were above it. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 42.
Pleas and Trials
35 of the 42 people (83%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts was 93%, so the share who pleaded guilty here was lower.
The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea and 60 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 7 people. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
On criminal history, 71% were in category I, the lowest, and 0% were in category VI, the highest.
Fiscal Year Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 15 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 27. The largest year was 2024, with 9 people, and 6 of them pleaded guilty.
Yearly medians range from 6 months in 2018 to 66 months in 2025. With 1 to 9 people a year, the table does not show a trend. A fiscal year ends each September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 8 | 40.5 months | 5 of 8 |
| 2018 | 4 | 6 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 2 | 60 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2020 | 3 | 16 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 5 | 29 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 3 | 20 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 5 | 30 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 9 | 30 months | 6 of 9 |
| 2025 | 2 | 66 months | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Do Not Contain
The Commission data holds only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and terms are imposed terms, not time served.
Keesler AFB, Mississippi, appears in this site's court-martial data and is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (42). 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, 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.