Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2025
The median prison term for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $15,001 to $95,000 was 10 months in fiscal year 2025. That is lower than the 12-month median for this band across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 905 people sentenced, 503 (56%) received prison.
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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: FY2025
In brief: The median prison term for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $15,001 to $95,000 was 10 months in fiscal year 2025. That is lower than the 12-month median for this band across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 905 people sentenced, 503 (56%) received prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 905 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025. 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.
A 10-Month Median
The yearly table in this post lists the band's median prison term for each fiscal year from 2016 to 2025. Fiscal year 2025 is the only year in the table with a median below 12 months.
Prison terms varied around that median. A quarter of the 503 people sent to prison received 21 months or more. A quarter received 2 months or less.
One year's figure does not show a lasting change. The records cannot show what led to the lower median.
| 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% |
Guilty Pleas and Trials in Fiscal Year 2025
Guilty pleas made up 895 of the 905 cases (99%). Trial convictions numbered 10.
Plea agreements in writing were part of 89% of the guilty pleas. The remaining 11% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 10 months. After a trial, the median was 25.5 months, based on only 8 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group that small cannot support firm conclusions about trial sentences.
Position Against the Guideline Range
A guideline range is the span of months the federal guidelines recommend for a given offense and criminal history. Judges must calculate it but are not bound by it.
Records for all 905 people include this information. Sentences within the range came to 59% (537). Sentences below the range at the government's request came to 18% (161). Sentences below the range without a government request came to 20% (183). Sentences above the range came to 3% (24).
Probation, Supervision, and Money Orders
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 340 people (38%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 494 people (55%). The median supervised release term was 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 792 people (88%). A fine was ordered for 51 (6%).
Mandatory Minimums and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 74 people (8%). A mandatory minimum is a lowest term required by statute.
The federal guidelines place each person in a criminal history category. In this band, 68% were in category I, the lowest, and 6% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records contain no matching field.
All Loss Bands in Fiscal Year 2025
Across every §2B1.1 loss band, 4,804 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2025. That full group had a median prison term of 20.5 months, and 75% were sent to prison.
The $15,001 to $95,000 band had a lower median and a lower prison share than the full group. Over all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the band counted 10,331 people, and 58% of them were sent to prison.
What Cannot Be Learned From These Records
Only people convicted and sentenced are in the Sentencing Commission data, so it has no acquittals or dismissals. Fiscal year 2025 covers October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
The dollar value of a larceny seldom appears in court-martial records. As a result, no military cases are matched to this federal band.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2025 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$15,001 to $95,000" (905), 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 2024 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2025 (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.