Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2018
The median prison term was 36 months (3 years) for people sent to prison in fiscal year 2018 after a federal theft or fraud conviction with a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million. That year, 925 people in this loss band were sentenced, and 859 of them (93%) received a prison term. People convicted at tr
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to › $550,001 to $3.5 million: FY2018
In brief: The median prison term was 36 months (3 years) for people sent to prison in fiscal year 2018 after a federal theft or fraud conviction with a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million. That year, 925 people in this loss band were sentenced, and 859 of them (93%) received a prison term. People convicted at trial had a median term of 70 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 925 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. 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.
Fiscal Year 2018 Against the Other Years
The yearly table covers fiscal years 2016 to 2025 for this loss band. In 2018, the median prison term of 36 months was higher than in any other year listed. Every other year shows a median between 30 months and 33 months.
Taking fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together, the band included 8,821 people. Their median prison term was 33 months, and 92% were sent to prison.
The 2018 plea rate of 90% was lower than in the other years 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% |
Sources and Scope
The figures come from U.S. Sentencing Commission records under guideline §2B1.1, the guideline for theft and fraud. Only people whose recorded loss was between $550,001 and $3.5 million are included. The band limits are steps in the guideline's loss table.
The data holds only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Federal fiscal year 2018 started October 1, 2017, and ended September 30, 2018.
Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions
Of the 925 people sentenced, 834 pleaded guilty and 91 were convicted after a trial.
People who pleaded guilty had a median prison term of 33 months. The median after a trial was 70 months, counting 90 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. These records do not explain why the trial group received longer terms, and the cases in each group may have differed in other ways.
Written plea agreements were part of 94% of guilty pleas. Straight pleas, with no agreement, made up 6%.
Range of Prison Terms
Besides the 859 people who went to prison, 44 (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among prison terms, a quarter were 57 months or more. A quarter were 21 months or less.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Information on the guideline range was available for all 925 people. A sentence below the range without a government request was the largest group, at 36% (332). Sentences within the range made up 31% (291). Sentences below the range at the government's request made up 30% (281). Only 21 sentences, or 2%, were above the range.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 124 people (13%).
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Fines
After prison, 849 people (92%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 853 people (92%), while a fine was ordered for 42 (5%).
By criminal history, 77% fell in category I, the lowest category, and 3% in category VI, the highest.
Every Loss Band in Fiscal Year 2018
When all §2B1.1 theft and fraud cases from fiscal year 2018 are counted, regardless of loss, the total is 5,948 people. That full group had a median prison term of 24 months, and 74% were sent to prison. Both figures are lower than those for the $550,001 to $3.5 million band.
What Cannot Be Shown
Courts-martial cannot be compared here. Military records rarely list the dollar value of a larceny and carry no criminal history field. The federal records also cannot show what drove the higher 2018 median, or what happened to people whose cases ended without a sentence.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2018 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$550,001 to $3.5 million" (925), 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 $550,001 to $3.5 Million, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2018 (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.