Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 42% of federal theft and fraud sentences with a loss of $15,001 to $95,000 were within the guideline range: 374 of the 895 with that information. Another 35% (317) were below the range without a government request. In all, 897 people were sentenced in this band, and 528 (59%) re
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to › $15,001 to $95,000: FY2020
In brief: In fiscal year 2020, 42% of federal theft and fraud sentences with a loss of $15,001 to $95,000 were within the guideline range: 374 of the 895 with that information. Another 35% (317) were below the range without a government request. In all, 897 people were sentenced in this band, and 528 (59%) received prison, with a median term of 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 897 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020. 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.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The federal sentencing guidelines produce a range of months for each person, based on the offense and the person's criminal history. The range is not binding, and judges may go above or below it.
In this band in fiscal year 2020, 42% of sentences (374) were inside the range. A below-range sentence at the government's request went to 20% (180). A below-range sentence with no government request went to 35% (317). An above-range sentence went to 3% (24).
The records show where each sentence fell. They do not record the judge's reasons.
Fewer People Sentenced in This Band
The band counted 897 people in fiscal year 2020. The yearly table shows a lower count in each year from fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2020, starting from 1,448.
For comparison, across every §2B1.1 loss band, 4,356 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2020, with a median prison term of 18 months, and 72% were sent to prison.
The records count sentences. They cannot show why fewer people were sentenced in a given year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,448 | 12 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 1,270 | 14 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 1,185 | 14 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 1,076 | 12 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 897 | 12 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 826 | 12.3 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 934 | 12 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 883 | 12 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 907 | 12 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 905 | 10 months | 99% |
Prison and Probation
Prison was ordered for 528 of the 897 people. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was ordered for 249 (28%).
The median prison term was 12 months, matching the band's median for fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A quarter of the people sent to prison received 25 months or more. A quarter received 3 months or less.
Pleas, Plea Agreements, and Trials
Of the 897 people, 882 (98%) pleaded guilty and 15 were convicted after a trial.
Most guilty pleas, 89%, included a written plea agreement. Straight pleas with no agreement made up 11%.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 26 months after a trial. The trial median rests on just 10 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. A count that small is not a reliable guide to trial sentences in general.
Other Parts of the Sentence
A mandatory minimum prison term, a floor set by statute, applied to 112 people (12%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 517 (58%), with a median of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 798 (89%), and a fine for 73 (8%).
In the criminal history scoring, 64% were in category I, the lowest category, and 8% were in category VI, the highest.
What Is Not in These Figures
Only convicted and sentenced people are in the Sentencing Commission data, so cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal do not appear. Fiscal year 2020 covers October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020.
Court-martial records rarely give the dollar value of a larceny and have no criminal history field. No military group can be matched to this federal band.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2020 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$15,001 to $95,000" (897), 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 $15,001 to $95,000, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2021 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2020 (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.