Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2024
In fiscal year 2024, 298 people were sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss from $1,001 to $15,000. A prison term was ordered for 181 (61%), and their median prison term was 6 months. The 8 people convicted at trial are a small group, and the 5 of them sent to prison had a median term of 6
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $ › $1,001 to $15,000: FY2024
In brief: In fiscal year 2024, 298 people were sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss from $1,001 to $15,000. A prison term was ordered for 181 (61%), and their median prison term was 6 months. The 8 people convicted at trial are a small group, and the 5 of them sent to prison had a median term of 60 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 298 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024. 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 Received Prison in Fiscal Year 2024?
Of the 298 people in this band, 181 (61%) were sentenced to prison. Another 112 (38%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The 61% prison rate was higher than the 54% rate for the band across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Short Median, Wide Spread
For the 181 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 6 months. That was lower than the all-years median of 8 months for the band.
A quarter of the prison terms were 0.1 months or less. A quarter were 18 months or more. The spread between those 2 points is wide.
After prison, 175 people (59%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median supervised release term was 36 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 702 | 7 months | 99% |
| 2017 | 602 | 8 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 506 | 8.8 months | more than 99% |
| 2019 | 498 | 7.8 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 380 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2021 | 342 | 8.6 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 350 | 12 months | 99% |
| 2023 | 354 | 7 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 298 | 6 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 238 | 7.2 months | more than 99% |
Trial Convictions
Guilty pleas made up 290 of the 298 cases (97%). The remaining 8 people were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 6 months. For the 5 people convicted at trial and sent to prison, the median was 60 months.
A median based on 5 people is not a stable measure. The records here do not show how these 5 cases differed from the plea cases.
Plea Agreements
A written plea agreement was part of 90% of the guilty pleas. Straight pleas, with no agreement with the government, made up 10%.
Guideline Range, Mandatory Minimums, and Criminal History
The records show the position against the guideline range for all 298 people. Within the range were 222 (74%). Below the range at the government's request were 29 (10%). Below the range without a government request were 33 (11%). Above the range were 14 (5%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 26 people (9%).
Category I, the lowest criminal history category, included 59% of the group. Category VI, the highest, included 9%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Restitution and Fines
Restitution was ordered for 237 people (80%). A fine was ordered for 28 (9%).
Next to All Theft and Fraud That Year
In fiscal year 2024, guideline §2B1.1 applied to 5,015 people across all loss bands. Of these, 74% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 20 months.
This band had a lower prison rate and a much shorter median than the full group. Its limits are steps in the guideline's loss table.
What Falls Outside These Numbers
The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing.
Fiscal year 2024 covers October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024. Court-martial larceny records rarely include a dollar amount, which means the military side cannot be sorted into this band.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2024 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$1,001 to $15,000" (298), 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 $1,001 to $15,000, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2023 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2025 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2024 (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.