Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2024
Probation only was the sentence for 355 of the 907 people (39%) sentenced in fiscal year 2024 for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $15,001 to $95,000. A prison term went to 492 (54%), and the median prison term was 12 months. Most sentences, 57% (516), were within the guideline range.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to › $15,001 to $95,000: FY2024
In brief: Probation only was the sentence for 355 of the 907 people (39%) sentenced in fiscal year 2024 for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $15,001 to $95,000. A prison term went to 492 (54%), and the median prison term was 12 months. Most sentences, 57% (516), were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 907 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.
Prison or Probation in Fiscal Year 2024
A probation-only sentence carries no prison or other confinement. In this band in fiscal year 2024, 355 people received one.
Prison was ordered for 492 people. That share, 54%, was lower than the 58% sent to prison in this band over fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
For those who went to prison, the median term was 12 months. A quarter received 24 months or more. At the other end, a quarter received 1 month or less.
How the Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the recommended span of months under the federal sentencing guidelines. It depends on the offense, including the loss amount, and on the person's criminal history. A judge may sentence outside it.
The records give a position for 906 people. Within the range were 516 (57%). Below the range because the government asked were 146 (16%). Below the range with no government request were 222 (25%). Above the range were 22 (2%).
Mandatory Minimums Applied to 67 People
A mandatory minimum is a prison floor written into a statute. One applied to 67 people in this band (7%).
Most people sentenced had a limited prior record. Criminal history category I, the lowest, included 67%. Category VI, the highest, included 6%.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 907 people, 889 (98%) pleaded guilty and 18 were convicted at trial. A written plea agreement was part of 91% of the pleas, while 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 12 months. After a trial, it was 14 months. The trial figure is based on 16 people who were sent to prison, which is a small number.
Other Court Orders
Supervised release follows prison and places the person under court supervision for a set time. It was ordered for 488 people (54%), with a median term of 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 803 people (89%). A fine was ordered for 57 (6%).
All Theft and Fraud Sentences in 2024
Every §2B1.1 loss band together covered 5,015 people in fiscal year 2024. Their median prison term was 20 months, and 74% were sent to prison.
Compared with that full group, this band had a shorter median term and a smaller share sent to prison. The table gives this band's results for each fiscal year in the data.
| 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% |
What These Figures Do Not Show
The Sentencing Commission tracks only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are missing from these counts. Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.
A single year cannot show whether the probation share will stay at this level. Court-martial records rarely include the dollar value of a larceny, so this band has no military counterpart in the data.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2024 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$15,001 to $95,000" (907), 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 2023 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, 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 $1,001 to $15,000, 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.