Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2020
Federal judges sentenced 633 people in fiscal year 2020 for theft or fraud involving a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million. Of those, 92% received a prison term, with a median of 32 months (2.7 years). The most common position against the guideline range was below the range without a government request
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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: FY2020
In brief: Federal judges sentenced 633 people in fiscal year 2020 for theft or fraud involving a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million. Of those, 92% received a prison term, with a median of 32 months (2.7 years). The most common position against the guideline range was below the range without a government request: 38% (241).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 633 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020. 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.
Below, Within, or Above the Range
The federal guidelines set a recommended range for each sentence. All 633 records in this group showed where the sentence fell against that range.
In 241 cases (38%), the sentence was below the range and the government had not asked for that. In 213 cases (34%), it was below the range at the government's request. Only 167 (26%) were within the range, and 12 (2%) were above it.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 76 people, or 12%.
This Band Compared With All Theft and Fraud in 2020
Fiscal year 2020 included 4,356 people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1 at every loss level. That full group had a median prison term of 18 months, and 72% were sent to prison.
The $550,001 to $3.5 million band had a longer median term, at 32 months, and a higher prison rate, at 92%.
Prison and Probation in Detail
Of the 633 people, 585 received a prison term. Probation alone, without prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 31 (5%).
The prison terms ranged widely. A quarter were 51 months or more, and a quarter were 18 months or less.
Plea or Trial
There were 588 guilty pleas (93%) and 45 convictions after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 30 months. After a trial, the median was 60 months, based on 45 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group of 45 is small, and the records do not show what set the trial cases apart from the plea cases.
Written plea agreements accounted for 96% of the guilty pleas. The remaining 4% were straight pleas, with no agreement.
Other Terms of the Sentence
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 575 people (91%), and the median supervision term was 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 573 (91%). A fine was ordered for 34 (5%).
On the guideline criminal history scale, 78% were in category I, the lowest, and 2% in category VI, the highest.
Counting Rules and Other Years
The source is the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Its data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so it has no acquittals or dismissals. The loss band edges are steps in the guideline §2B1.1 loss table. Fiscal year 2020 covered October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020.
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 8,821 people were sentenced in this band. The median prison term for the full period was 33 months, and 92% went to prison. The table lists each year separately.
| 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% |
Questions the Records Cannot Answer
Court-martial cases cannot be placed in this band, since military records rarely show a larceny's dollar value and have no criminal history field. The federal data also cannot explain why fewer people were sentenced in this band in 2020 than in earlier years, or why any judge chose a particular term.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2020 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$550,001 to $3.5 million" (633), 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 2019 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2020 (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.