Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2023
Of the 102 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $1,000 or less in fiscal year 2023, 99 (97%) pleaded guilty and 3 were convicted after a trial. A prison term was ordered for 36 people (35%), and their median term was 6.5 months. Another 64 (63%) received probation only.
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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: FY2023
In brief: Of the 102 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $1,000 or less in fiscal year 2023, 99 (97%) pleaded guilty and 3 were convicted after a trial. A prison term was ordered for 36 people (35%), and their median term was 6.5 months. Another 64 (63%) received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 102 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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.
Trials and Plea Agreements in Fiscal Year 2023
The guilty plea rate for this band in fiscal year 2023 was 97%. The yearly table shows that every other year from fiscal year 2016 to 2025 had a rate of 98% or more.
The records show 3 convictions after trial. Of those, 2 people were sent to prison, and their median term was 13.5 months. People who pleaded guilty and went to prison had a median of 6.5 months. A trial figure built on 2 people is too small to describe trials in general.
Written plea agreements were part of 85% of the guilty pleas. Straight pleas, with no agreement, made up 14%.
| 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% |
Prison Terms and Probation
There were 36 prison sentences, which is 35% of the 102 people. The 64 people given probation only (63%) had no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 6.5 months. A quarter of the terms were 2.3 months or less, and a quarter were 13 months or more.
Over all fiscal years from 2016 to 2025, this band had 1,210 people, a 33% prison share, and a median term of 5.8 months. Both the fiscal year 2023 prison share and median were a little higher.
The Guideline Range
Federal judges calculate a guideline range for each sentence. In this group, 88 of the 102 sentences (86%) were inside it.
Below the range without a government request: 11 (11%). Below the range at the government's request: 2 (2%). Above the range: 1 (less than 1%).
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Fines
Supervised release, which follows a prison term, was ordered for 29 people (28%). The median term was 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 73 people (72%). Fines were ordered for 24 (24%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 people (5%).
Criminal History of the Group
The federal system places each person in a criminal history category, from category I to category VI. Category I covered 73% of this group. Category VI, the highest, covered 9%.
Courts-martial do not record criminal history this way, so there is no military figure to set beside these.
Every Loss Band in Fiscal Year 2023
Theft and fraud sentences fall under guideline §2B1.1, whose loss table sets the dollar steps used for these bands. Across all of them, 4,904 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2023.
That larger group had a 75% prison share and a median prison term of 21 months, higher on both counts than the $1,000-or-less band.
Gaps in the Records
The U.S. Sentencing Commission data lists people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are outside it. The fiscal year covered here is October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023.
Military larceny records rarely give a dollar amount, so courts-martial cannot be matched to this band.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2023 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$1,000 or less" (102), 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 2022 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2024 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2023 (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.