Theft and Fraud Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Marine Corps Courts-Martial
None of the 21 contested Marine Corps courts-martial for larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121) that reached a verdict from 2020 to 2025 ended in a full acquittal (0%). Another 3 (14%) were partial acquittals. In federal court, 38 of 164 trials of defendants charged with theft of government propert
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In brief: None of the 21 contested Marine Corps courts-martial for larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121) that reached a verdict from 2020 to 2025 ended in a full acquittal (0%). Another 3 (14%) were partial acquittals. In federal court, 38 of 164 trials of defendants charged with theft of government property ended in an acquittal (23%).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 9,190 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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.
No Full Acquittals in the Marine Corps Data
The Marine Corps data counts 21 courts-martial in which the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge and a verdict was reached. Full acquittals numbered 0.
Partial acquittals numbered 3. A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another.
Who Decided Guilt
A judge alone decided 15 of the 21 cases, and none ended in a full acquittal. Members decided 2 cases, and both of those were enlisted members; neither ended in a full acquittal.
No forum is listed for 4 cases, and none of those ended in a full acquittal either.
Navy and Marine Corps records usually do not show who decided guilt, so the forum breakdown covers only part of the data.
Year by Year
The yearly counts run from 2 to 8 contested cases that reached a verdict. In 2021 there were 8, and in 2025 there were 4.
Every year from 2020 to 2025 shows 0 full acquittals. With counts this small, a result of 0 in a given year says little about the next year.
| Year | Marine Corps: full acquittals of contested cases |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 0 of 2 |
| 2021 | 0 of 8 |
| 2022 | 0 of 2 |
| 2023 | 0 of 3 |
| 2024 | 0 of 2 |
| 2025 | 0 of 4 |
Federal Trials for Comparison
The Federal Judicial Center counted 9,190 defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 641, theft of government property, whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Pleas of guilty were entered by 6,127 (67%), and 2,899 (32%) had their cases dismissed.
A total of 164 defendants (2%) went to trial. Of the 164 trials, 38 ended in an acquittal (23%).
Jury trials made up 137 of the trials, with 26 acquittals (19%). Bench trials, in which a judge decides, made up 27, with 12 acquittals (44%). In all, 6,253 defendants (68%) were convicted.
Why 0% and 23% Cannot Be Ranked
The Marine Corps rate is a share of contested cases that reached a verdict, and the federal rate is a share of trials. The groups are defined differently.
The federal data counts every defendant whose case ended, including dismissals. The Marine Corps data starts at the verdict, so cases dropped earlier do not appear.
A federal felony needs a grand jury indictment, while a court-martial has no grand jury. The records cannot show whether that difference affects how many weak cases reach a verdict.
What the Records Cannot Show
A result of 0 in 21 cases does not mean a full acquittal is impossible in the Marine Corps. It means none occurred in this set of cases.
The records do not show the evidence, the reasons for verdicts, or the cases withdrawn before trial. Federal partial acquittals are not reported separately, so the 3 Marine Corps partial acquittals have no federal counterpart.
How We Counted
Marine Corps courts-martial charging larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121; federal guideline §2B1.1) with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 that were contested and reached a verdict (21). Federal: defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 641 (theft of government property) whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (9,190), Federal Judicial Center.
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
Different cases reach each system. Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
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)
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial (overview)
- Theft and Fraud Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Army Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Navy Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Theft and Fraud Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- Guilty Pleas in Theft and Fraud Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials? (related comparison)
- Guilty Pleas in Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, Year by Year (related comparison)
- Child Pornography Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 (related comparison)
- Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare (related comparison)
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 (related comparison)
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial (related comparison)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial (related comparison)
- How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (court-martial data)
- Article 121 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 121 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Article 121 (Larceny): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 121 UCMJ: Larceny and Wrongful Appropriation (law firm reference page)
- Forum Selection (law firm reference page)
- 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.