Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
Of the 27 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 22 (81%) received a prison term, with a median of 22 months. Restitution was ordered for 26 people (96%). In all 94 federal districts, the median prison term for tax offenses was 15.1 month
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In brief: Of the 27 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 22 (81%) received a prison term, with a median of 22 months. Restitution was ordered for 26 people (96%). In all 94 federal districts, the median prison term for tax offenses was 15.1 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 27 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.
Restitution and Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 27 people in this district whose offense type was Tax. Restitution was ordered for 26 (96%), and a fine for 6 (22%).
Of the 27, 22 (81%) received a prison term, and 4 (15%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 22 months. A quarter received 29.2 months or more, and a quarter received 14.2 months or less.
Comparison With All Districts
Across all 94 federal districts, 5,024 people were sentenced for tax offenses, and 66% were sent to prison. The median prison term was 15.1 months. In this district, a higher share was sent to prison and the median was higher.
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 60 months. Tax cases were less than 1% of the 3,011 people sentenced in this district in the period.
Guilty Pleas and the One Trial
Of the 27 people, 26 (96%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 20 months. For the 1 person convicted at trial and sent to prison it was 57 months, which is one case and not a comparison.
In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty for tax offenses. For all offenses in this district, the share was 96%. Among guilty pleas here, 100% had a written plea agreement and 0% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Primary Guidelines
The offense type is the Commission's category, assigned from the primary guideline. §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) was the primary guideline for 20 people. §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) applied to 6. §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) applied to 1.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 27 people with that information recorded (0%).
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 26 people with guideline information, 16 (62%) were sentenced within the range. Another 7 (27%) were below it without a government request, and 2 (8%) were below it at the government's request. 1 person (4%) was above the range.
In all districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. The share here was higher. For all offenses in this district, it was 67%.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 22 people (81%), with a median term of 12 months. In criminal history, 70% were in the lowest category (category I), and 0% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 15 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 12. The table has no row for fiscal year 2024. Yearly counts are 1 to 5 people, so the table does not show a trend. Fiscal years start on October 1.
Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district. Courts-martial there are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 25.5 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2017 | 5 | 24 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 2 | 11.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 40 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 4 | 18 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 5 | 24 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 20 months | 1 of 1 |
Limits of the Records
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not. The records do not give the tax amounts involved.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (27). 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.