Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2017
Federal courts sentenced 200 people in fiscal year 2017 for theft or fraud involving a loss of $1,000 or less, and 78 of them (39%) went to prison. That prison share was higher than the 33% for this loss band over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 5.7 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: FY2017
In brief: Federal courts sentenced 200 people in fiscal year 2017 for theft or fraud involving a loss of $1,000 or less, and 78 of them (39%) went to prison. That prison share was higher than the 33% for this loss band over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 5.7 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 200 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017. 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.
Who Went to Prison in Fiscal Year 2017?
The 78 prison sentences made up 39% of the 200 people counted. Another 112 people (56%) received probation only, which means no prison or other confinement at all.
The all-years figure for this band is 33% sent to prison, out of 1,210 people. Fiscal year 2017 had a higher share.
The prison share for theft and fraud as a whole was higher. Across all loss bands in fiscal year 2017, 72% of 6,358 people received a prison term.
Terms Were Measured in Months
Among the 78 people sent to prison, the median term was 5.7 months. A quarter received 1.3 months or less, and a quarter received 10 months or more.
The all-years median for the band was 5.8 months, about the same as the fiscal year 2017 figure. For all §2B1.1 cases that year, the median was 24 months.
The 5 Trial Convictions
Guilty pleas resolved 195 of the 200 cases (98%). The remaining 5 people were convicted after a trial.
People who pleaded guilty and went to prison had a median term of 6 months. The 5 people convicted at trial, all of whom were sent to prison, had a median of 4 months. A group of 5 is very small, and its median can change a great deal with a single case.
Of those who pleaded guilty, 76% did so under a written plea agreement, and 23% entered a straight plea with no agreement.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
All 200 sentences had a recorded position against the guideline range. Within the range: 90% (180). Below the range at the government's request: 3% (6). Below the range without a government request: 5% (10). Above the range: 2% (4).
The data records where the sentence fell. It does not record the reason a sentence fell outside the range.
Other Parts of the Sentence
Courts ordered restitution for 133 people (67%) and a fine for 29 (15%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 69 people (35%), and its median term was 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 people (3%).
By criminal history, 64% fell in category I, the lowest category, and 5% fell in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no matching field.
| 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% |
How the Count Was Made
The source is U.S. Sentencing Commission data on people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1, the theft and fraud guideline. Each band follows a step in that guideline's loss table. Fiscal year 2017 began October 1, 2016, and ended September 30, 2017.
Only convictions that led to a sentence are counted. Cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are not part of the data.
There is no court-martial version of this count. Military records rarely list the dollar value of a larceny, so they cannot be grouped by loss.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2017 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$1,000 or less" (200), 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 2016 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2017 (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.