Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, more than 99% of the 826 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $15,001 to $95,000 pleaded guilty: 819 of them. Only 7 were convicted after a trial. Prison was ordered for 464 people (56%), and their median term was 12.3 months.
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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: FY2021
In brief: In fiscal year 2021, more than 99% of the 826 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $15,001 to $95,000 pleaded guilty: 819 of them. Only 7 were convicted after a trial. Prison was ordered for 464 people (56%), and their median term was 12.3 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 826 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021. 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.
Almost No Trials
The 7 trial convictions in this band in fiscal year 2021 all ended with a prison term. Their median prison term was 18 months. For people who pleaded guilty and went to prison, the median was 12 months.
A group of 7 is too small to describe a pattern. The trial median could change a great deal with the addition or removal of a single case. The records also do not show what was charged at those trials.
For the 819 guilty pleas, 89% included a written plea agreement. The other 11% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Length of Prison Terms
Among the 464 people sent to prison, the median term was 12.3 months. A quarter received 25.2 months or more. A quarter received 4 months or less.
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 258 people (31%).
The fiscal year 2021 prison share was lower than the 58% recorded for this band over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median was close to that period's 12 months.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the number of months the federal guidelines suggest, based on the offense and the person's record. Records for 824 people in the band show where the sentence fell.
In fiscal year 2021, 39% (322) were sentenced within the range. The government asked for a lower sentence for 23% (192). Another 34% (283) received a sentence below the range without a government request. The remaining 3% (27) were above the range.
Theft and Fraud Overall in Fiscal Year 2021
All §2B1.1 loss bands together included 4,235 people in fiscal year 2021. The median prison term for that full group was 20 months, and 71% were sent to prison.
This band had a shorter median and a lower share sent to prison than the full group. The table lists the band's yearly figures, including the plea rate for each fiscal 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% |
Supervision, Restitution, and Mandatory Minimums
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 458 people (55%). The median supervised release term was 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 739 people (89%), and a fine for 50 (6%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 107 people (13%). Category I, the lowest criminal history category, included 63% of the band, and category VI included 8%.
Boundaries of the Data
Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, because the Sentencing Commission records only people who were convicted and sentenced. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
Military courts-martial cannot be placed in this band. Their records rarely show the dollar value of a larceny, and they do not score criminal history.
The federal records also stop at the sentence. They do not show whether restitution was paid or whether supervised release was completed.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2021 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$15,001 to $95,000" (826), 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 2020 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2021 (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.