Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2019
In fiscal year 2019, 792 of the 842 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a $550,001 to $3.5 million loss received a prison term, or 94%. Their median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Just 33 people (4%) were sentenced to probation only.
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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: FY2019
In brief: In fiscal year 2019, 792 of the 842 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a $550,001 to $3.5 million loss received a prison term, or 94%. Their median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Just 33 people (4%) were sentenced to probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 842 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019. 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.
How Many People in This Band Went to Prison in 2019?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 842 people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1 in fiscal year 2019 with a loss in this band. A prison term was ordered for 792 of them. The 94% prison rate was higher than the 92% for the band across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
The 33 people given probation only had no prison or other confinement as part of the sentence.
For those who did go to prison, 33 months was the median. One quarter of the terms reached 51.2 months or more. Another quarter were 21 months or less.
Was the Sentence Inside the Guideline Range?
Guideline range information was on record for all 842 people. The largest share, 37% (313), were sentenced below the range without the government asking for it. Next came sentences below the range at the government's request, at 33% (278). Sentences within the range made up 28% (233). Above-range sentences were 2% (18).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 112 people, which is 13%.
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
In this group, 765 people pleaded guilty (91%) and 77 were found guilty at trial.
Comparing medians, a guilty plea was followed by a 33-month prison term and a trial conviction by a 60-month term. The trial median is based on 75 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records show the difference but not the reasons for it.
Nearly all guilty pleas, 95%, rested on a written plea agreement. Straight pleas without an agreement were 5%.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervision
Restitution was part of the sentence for 764 people (91%). Fines were ordered for 31 (4%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 777 people (92%). The median length was 36 months.
Under the guideline criminal history scale, 79% were in category I, the lowest, and 2% were in category VI, the highest.
All Theft and Fraud Sentences in Fiscal Year 2019
Counting all §2B1.1 cases in fiscal year 2019, of every loss amount, 5,707 people were sentenced. The median prison term for that wider group was 22 months, and 75% went to prison. The $550,001 to $3.5 million band had a longer median and a higher prison rate.
The table gives the count, median prison term, and plea rate for this band in each fiscal year from 2016 to 2025. Over those years, 8,821 people were sentenced in the band, with a median prison term of 33 months.
| 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% |
About the Data
This dollar band follows a step in the loss table of guideline §2B1.1. The Sentencing Commission data covers people who were convicted and sentenced; it leaves out acquittals and dismissals. Fiscal year 2019 ran from October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019.
Limits
No court-martial comparison is possible for this band. Military records rarely show what a larceny was worth in dollars, and they have no criminal history field. Nor can the federal figures show why a given sentence fell above, within, or below the guideline range.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2019 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$550,001 to $3.5 million" (842), 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 2018 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2019 (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.