Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Jacksonville vs. Federal Court in the Middle District of Florida
Navy courts-martial at Jacksonville, Florida recorded 15 convictions for larceny, theft, and fraud under Article 121 from 2016 to 2024, and the median adjudged confinement was 3.7 months. In the Middle District of Florida, 1,790 people were sentenced under federal guideline §2B1.1 in fiscal years 20
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In brief: Navy courts-martial at Jacksonville, Florida recorded 15 convictions for larceny, theft, and fraud under Article 121 from 2016 to 2024, and the median adjudged confinement was 3.7 months. In the Middle District of Florida, 1,790 people were sentenced under federal guideline §2B1.1 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, with a median prison term of 24 months (2 years). The federal group covers the whole district and is made up mostly of people outside the military.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,790 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
The Jacksonville Convictions
All 15 convictions at Jacksonville were Navy cases. The records list the trial location as "Jacksonville" or "Jacksonville, Florida".
Confinement was adjudged in 12 of the 15 (80%). The median was 3.7 months, and a quarter received 6 months or more. That median is lower than the 5-month median for all 626 court-martial convictions for this offense in the data.
Of the 15 enlisted sailors convicted, 5 (33%) received a punitive discharge. All 5 were bad-conduct discharges, and there were 0 dishonorable discharges. Only 2 of the 15 cases (13%) were tried at a general court-martial.
Pleas and Contested Cases
Guilty pleas made up 13 of the 15 convictions (87%). The median confinement after a guilty plea was 3.4 months, based on 11 cases with confinement.
Only 1 contested case that ended in conviction included confinement, and that sentence was 40 months. A single case is not a median in any useful sense, so it does not show how contested cases are sentenced at Jacksonville.
By trial period, the median was 4.9 months for 2016 to 2019 (5 cases) and 3 months for 2020 to 2025 (7 cases). These counts are small.
Is This the Same Group of Cases?
No. Jacksonville is within the Middle District of Florida, but the 1,790 federal sentences are from the whole district. They are not Jacksonville installation cases, and most involved no service members.
The years also differ. Federal fiscal years run October 1 to September 30. The court-martial years go by trial date.
| Courts-martial at Jacksonville | Federal court, Middle District of Florida | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 15 | 1,790 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 80% | 67% |
| Median confinement or prison | 3.7 months | 24 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 6 months | 50 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 13 of 15 with a plea recorded (87%) | 95% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 296 of 1,790 with the information (17%) |
Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Florida
A prison term was imposed on 1,205 of the 1,790 people (67%), and 419 (23%) received probation only. A quarter of the prison terms were 12 months or less, and a quarter were 50 months or more. The district median of 24 months was higher than the 21-month median for all federal districts, based on 53,639 people.
In the district, 88 people were convicted after a trial, and 1,702 (95%) pleaded guilty. The median after trial was 60 months, based on 71 people sent to prison. After a guilty plea, the median was 24 months.
Among the guilty pleas, 79% had a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline Range and Other Orders
Within the guideline range were 44% of the sentences (785). Below the range without a government request were 35% (620), and below it at the government's request were 19% (343). Above the range were 2% (42).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 296 people (17%). Restitution was ordered for 1,588 (89%) and a fine for 73 (4%). Supervised release was ordered for 1,187 (66%), and the median term was 36 months.
What These Numbers Do Not Cover
Court-martial confinement is as adjudged, before clemency or appeal, and federal prison terms are as imposed rather than served. Federal records show that 71% of the district's defendants were in criminal history category I and 5% in category VI. Court-martial records have no such field.
Neither set of records shows the amount of money involved in a Jacksonville case or why a sentence was set where it was.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is Jacksonville, Florida, ending in a conviction for larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121; federal guideline §2B1.1) (15). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the Middle District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida Mid") under primary guideline §2B1.1 (theft, embezzlement, fraud, and property damage) (1,790). The installation is matched to the federal district for the county where it sits.
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.
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.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
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.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (the federal district)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Jacksonville vs. Federal Court in the Middle District of Florida (same installation)
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Bremerton vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington (other installations)
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (other installations)
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (other installations)
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Fort Hood vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Texas (other installations)
- Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Army Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 121 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Fighting an Army Larceny Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Army Larceny Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Air Force Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force Larceny Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 121 in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- 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)
- Article 121 UCMJ: Larceny and Wrongful Appropriation (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.