Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington
Army courts-martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord produced 12 Article 121 convictions for larceny, theft, and fraud with trial dates from 2021 to 2025, and 11 of them (92%) included confinement, with a median of 3 months. The federal court for the Western District of Washington sentenced 426 people un
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In brief: Army courts-martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord produced 12 Article 121 convictions for larceny, theft, and fraud with trial dates from 2021 to 2025, and 11 of them (92%) included confinement, with a median of 3 months. The federal court for the Western District of Washington sentenced 426 people under guideline §2B1.1 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 72% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Those federal cases come from the whole district, not from the base, and most did not involve service members.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 426 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.
What Each Count Covers
The 426 federal sentences are district-wide. Joint Base Lewis-McChord is located in the Western District of Washington, but the federal figures are not cases from the base. Most of the people in them had no military connection.
The court-martial count includes only convictions where the records list the trial location as "Joint Base Lewis-McChord". All 12 were Army cases.
The time periods also differ. The court-martial records for this location run from 2021 to 2025 by trial date. The federal records span fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and each fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Army Sentences at the Base
Of the 12 enlisted soldiers convicted, 6 (50%) received a punitive discharge. All 6 were bad-conduct discharges, and none was a dishonorable discharge.
Confinement was adjudged in 11 of the 12 cases. The median was 3 months, and a quarter received 8.5 months or more. That median is lower than the 5-month median for all 626 courts-martial convictions for this offense in the data.
Most of these cases were tried below the general court-martial level. Only 4 of the 12 (33%) were general courts-martial.
| Courts-martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord | Federal court, Western District of Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 12 | 426 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 92% | 72% |
| Median confinement or prison | 3 months | 18 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 8.5 months | 38 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 10 of 12 with a plea recorded (83%) | 95% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 74 of 423 with the information (17%) |
Did Pleading Guilty Make a Difference?
At the base, 10 of the 12 convictions (83%) followed a guilty plea. The 9 guilty-plea cases with confinement had a median of 1.5 months. The 2 contested cases that ended in conviction had a median of 9.3 months. With 2 cases on one side, this gap does not support any general conclusion.
In the federal district, 406 of the 426 pleaded guilty (95%), and 20 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 60 months after a trial, based on 19 people sent to prison after trial. Nearly every federal guilty plea, more than 99%, came with a written plea agreement.
Federal Sentences and the Guideline Range
Federal judges are given a recommended guideline range for every case. In the Western District of Washington, only 27% of these sentences (115) were within that range. The most common result was a sentence below the range at the government's request: 44% (186).
A further 28% (121) were below the range with no government request, and less than 1% (4) were above it. A mandatory minimum prison term applied in 74 cases (17%).
Probation only was the sentence for 105 people (25%). For those sent to prison, a quarter received 5 months or less and a quarter received 38 months or more. Across all federal districts, the median prison term for this guideline was 21 months, among 53,639 people sentenced.
Money Orders and Supervision
Restitution was ordered for 374 of the federal defendants (88%). A fine was ordered for 28 (7%). After prison, 289 (68%) were ordered to serve supervised release, and the median term was 36 months.
Courts-martial do not report these items in the same way, so the table above does not include them.
What the Comparison Leaves Out
A court-martial sentence in these records is the one adjudged at trial, before any clemency or appeal. A federal prison term is the term imposed, not the time a person served.
Federal records list criminal history: 69% were in category I, the lowest, and 7% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no such field. With 12 military convictions, the base figures can change noticeably with a single case, and the records do not show the facts behind any of them.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, ending in a conviction for larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121; federal guideline §2B1.1) (12). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the Western District of Washington (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Washington West") under primary guideline §2B1.1 (theft, embezzlement, fraud, and property damage) (426). 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 Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (the federal district)
- Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington (same installation)
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington (same installation)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington (same installation)
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington (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.