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# Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-550001-to-3-5-million-fy2016/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:12:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:12:29.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2016, 1,163 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss between $550,001 and $3.5 million. Of them, 91% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Most pleaded guilty: 1,071 of the 1,163, or 92%.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-550001-to-3-5-million/) › $550,001 to $3.5 million: FY2016

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2016, 1,163 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss between $550,001 and $3.5 million. Of them, 91% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Most pleaded guilty: 1,071 of the 1,163, or 92%.

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,163 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Who Is Counted in This Fiscal Year 2016 Group

The count covers people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1, the federal sentencing guideline for theft, fraud, and property damage. Each person's recorded dollar loss fell in the band from $550,001 to $3.5 million. The band edges are steps in the loss table of that guideline.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted, or whose cases were dismissed, do not appear. A federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, so fiscal year 2016 began on October 1, 2015.

## Prison, Probation, and Length of Term

A prison term was ordered for 1,053 of the 1,163 people (91%). Another 64 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

For the people sent to prison, the median term was 33 months. The median is the middle term when all of the terms are listed in order. A quarter of these terms were 54 months or more. At the other end, a quarter were 18 months or less.

Those 33 months were longer than the median for all §2B1.1 theft and fraud cases sentenced in fiscal year 2016\. Across every loss band that year, 7,104 people were sentenced, the median prison term was 22.2 months, and 70% were sent to prison.

## Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials

Of the 1,163 people, 1,071 pleaded guilty and 92 were convicted after a trial. The plea rate was 92%.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 33 months. After a trial, it was 60 months, based on 87 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The plea and trial groups are not alike in other ways, and the records cannot show what separated the cases that went to trial from the ones that ended in a plea.

Among the guilty pleas, 93% came with a written plea agreement. The other 7% were straight pleas, entered with no agreement.

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range

All 1,163 cases had information on how the sentence compared with the guideline range. The most common result was a sentence below the range at the government's request: 35% (409). A sentence within the range followed at 31% (357). A sentence below the range without a government request accounted for 32% (377).

Sentences above the range were uncommon: 2% (20).

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 137 people (12%).

## Supervision, Fines, and Restitution

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,027 people (88%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 1,042 (90%). A fine was much less common: 59 people (5%).

On criminal history, 77% were in the lowest category, category I, and 2% were in the highest, category VI.

## How 2016 Compares With the Other Years

Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, this loss band held 8,821 people. The median prison term for all those years was 33 months, the same as in 2016, and 92% were sent to prison. The table shows each year's count, median prison term, and plea rate. The 2016 count of 1,163 is the largest in the table.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1,163            | 33 months     | 92%            |
| 2017        | 1,071            | 33 months     | 92%            |
| 2018        | 925              | 36 months     | 90%            |
| 2019        | 842              | 33 months     | 91%            |
| 2020        | 633              | 32 months     | 93%            |
| 2021        | 582              | 32 months     | 97%            |
| 2022        | 857              | 33 months     | 96%            |
| 2023        | 873              | 32.5 months   | 94%            |
| 2024        | 939              | 30 months     | 95%            |
| 2025        | 936              | 30 months     | 95%            |

## Limits of These Records

These numbers describe federal sentences only. Court-martial records rarely give the dollar value of a larceny, so military cases cannot be sorted into this loss band. They also have no criminal history field. The federal data cannot show why any one sentence was set where it was, or what happened to people who were never sentenced.

### How We Counted

People sentenced in fiscal year 2016 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$550,001 to $3.5 million" (1,163), 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-550001-to-3-5-million/) (overview)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-550001-to-3-5-million-fy2017/) (previous or next year)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-no-loss-fy2016/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-1000-or-less-fy2016/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-1001-to-15000-fy2016/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-15001-to-95000-fy2016/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-95001-to-550000-fy2016/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-over-3-5-million-fy2016/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-not-specified-fy2016/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-dollar-loss-vs-article-121/)
- [Army Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-121-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Air Force Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-121-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 121 (Larceny): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-121-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 121 UCMJ: Larceny and Wrongful Appropriation](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.