Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of North Carolina, 66 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 43 (65%) received a prison term and 11 (17%) received probation only. Only 11 people (17%) were sentenced within the guideline range, compared with 24% for tax offenses in all
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In brief: In the Western District of North Carolina, 66 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 43 (65%) received a prison term and 11 (17%) received probation only. Only 11 people (17%) were sentenced within the guideline range, compared with 24% for tax offenses in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 66 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.
Sentences Mostly Fell Below the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the range calculated under the federal sentencing guidelines. For tax cases in this district, 32 people (48%) were sentenced below the range without a government request. Another 21 (32%) were below it at the government's request.
Only 11 (17%) were within the range, and 2 (3%) were above it. In all districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. In this district, 53% of sentences for all offense types were within the range.
Prison and Probation
Among the 43 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 36.5 months or more, and a quarter received 10.5 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 15.1 months. The share sent to prison here was about the same, and the median was higher. The district's median for all offense types was 57 months.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 66 people.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 57 people (86%) pleaded guilty, and 9 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts was 93%. Among guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 46 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on the 9 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show how those cases differed.
Guidelines Used
"Tax" is the Commission's offense category, assigned from the primary guideline. Here, 32 cases used §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) and 28 used §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud).
A total of 5 used §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax), and 1 used §2T1.9 (Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax). Tax cases were 1% of the 4,904 people sentenced in the district.
A Small Group in Each Year
The district sentenced 24 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 42 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Each year had between 2 and 11 people.
The yearly median was 6 months in fiscal year 2021 and 37 months in fiscal year 2019. In fiscal year 2025, 3 of 8 people pleaded guilty. With counts this small, none of these figures is a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | 12 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2017 | 5 | 16 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2018 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 6 | 37 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2020 | 10 | 12 months | 90% |
| 2021 | 8 | 6 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2022 | 11 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 2 | 28 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 3 | 27 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 8 | 33 months | 3 of 8 |
Restitution, Supervised Release, and Criminal History
Restitution was ordered for 62 of the 66 people (94%), and a fine for 6 (9%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 43 (65%), and the median term was 24 months.
In criminal history, 82% were in the lowest category (category I) and 2% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Limits of the Data
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The data does not show the amount of tax involved.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (66). 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 North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, 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.