Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 184 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a recorded loss of $1,000 or less. Probation only was the most common sentence: 115 of them (63%) received it, while 54 (29%) received a prison term. For those sent to prison, the median term was 6.6 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or L › $1,000 or less: FY2016
In brief: In fiscal year 2016, 184 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a recorded loss of $1,000 or less. Probation only was the most common sentence: 115 of them (63%) received it, while 54 (29%) received a prison term. For those sent to prison, the median term was 6.6 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 184 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016. 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.
Probation Was More Common Than Prison
Probation only means no prison and no other confinement. In fiscal year 2016, that was the sentence for 115 of the 184 people in this loss band. A prison term went to 54 people.
Across every theft and fraud loss band that year, 70% of the 7,104 people sentenced were sent to prison. The share for the $1,000-or-less band, 29%, was lower.
The prison share for this band across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 33%. The fiscal year 2016 share was a little lower than that.
Length of the Prison Terms
The median prison term for the 54 people sent to prison was 6.6 months. The median is the middle term when all 54 are put in order.
The spread was narrow. A quarter of them received 2.3 months or less. Another quarter received 12 months or more.
For comparison, the median for all §2B1.1 cases in fiscal year 2016 was 22.2 months. The all-years median for the $1,000-or-less band was 5.8 months.
What the $1,000 Band Measures
Guideline §2B1.1 is the federal sentencing guideline for theft, fraud, and related property crimes. It uses a loss table, and the sentence range grows as the dollar loss passes each step. The bands in this series follow those steps.
This post counts people whose recorded loss was $1,000 or less. The U.S. Sentencing Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing.
Fiscal year 2016 ran from October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 184 | 6.6 months | more than 99% |
| 2017 | 200 | 5.7 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 161 | 4.5 months | 99% |
| 2019 | 151 | 6 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 108 | 5.6 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 85 | 4.5 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 91 | 1.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 102 | 6.5 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 78 | 5.8 months | 99% |
| 2025 | 50 | 5.2 months | 100% |
Pleas, Trials, and the Guideline Range
Of the 184 people, 183 (more than 99%) pleaded guilty. A single person, 1 of 184, was convicted after a trial.
Among the guilty pleas, 75% included a written plea agreement. Straight pleas with no agreement made up 21%.
Sentences within the guideline range accounted for 86% (158). Below the range at the government's request were 5% (10). Below the range without a government request were 7% (13). Above the range were 2% (3).
Supervision, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 46 people (25%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 122 people (66%). A fine was ordered for 33 (18%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 people (2%). In criminal history, 64% were in category I, the lowest, and 9% were in category VI, the highest.
Limits of These Records
Court-martial records rarely give the dollar value of a larceny. For that reason, no military comparison by loss amount is possible here.
The records also do not explain why a given person received probation or prison. They count sentences, and they do not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2016 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$1,000 or less" (184), U.S. Sentencing Commission (LOSSHI).
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
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.
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.
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 Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial
- Army Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Air Force Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (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.