Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2022
In fiscal year 2022, federal courts sentenced 857 people for theft or fraud with a loss in the $550,001 to $3.5 million range. A prison term was ordered for 787 (92%), and the median term was 33 months (2.8 years). Restitution was ordered for 777 people, or 91%.
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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: FY2022
In brief: In fiscal year 2022, federal courts sentenced 857 people for theft or fraud with a loss in the $550,001 to $3.5 million range. A prison term was ordered for 787 (92%), and the median term was 33 months (2.8 years). Restitution was ordered for 777 people, or 91%.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 857 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022. 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.
What a Sentence in This Band Usually Included
A federal sentence can include several parts besides prison. In this group, restitution to victims was ordered for 777 of the 857 people (91%). A fine was ordered far less often: 44 people (5%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 780 people (91%). The median supervision term was 36 months. One person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life.
Length of Prison Terms in 2022
For the 787 people sent to prison, the middle term was 33 months. A quarter of terms reached 51 months or more, while a quarter were 18 months or less.
Probation alone, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 54 people (6%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 114 people (13%).
How Did Cases Reach Sentencing?
Of the 857 people, 820 pleaded guilty (96%) and 37 were convicted after a trial.
Written plea agreements were part of 95% of guilty pleas. Another 4% were straight pleas with no agreement.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 32 months. After a trial, it was 57 months, based on 37 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. That is a small group. The records also cannot show how the trial cases differed from the plea cases before sentencing.
The Guideline Range in 2022
Of the 856 people with guideline range information, 37% (319) received a sentence below the range without a government request. For 36% (306), the sentence was below the range at the government's request. A within-range sentence was given to 26% (220). Sentences above the range were 1% (11).
Where 2022 Fits
All §2B1.1 theft and fraud cases in fiscal year 2022, from every loss band, totaled 5,208 people. Their median prison term was 21 months, and 76% were sent to prison. The $550,001 to $3.5 million band had a longer median and a higher prison rate than the full group.
For the band over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the count was 8,821 people, the median prison term was 33 months, and 92% went to prison. The 2022 median matched that long-run figure. Each year appears 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% |
Source Notes
These figures are from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded loss fell in this band. The band limits match steps in that guideline's loss table.
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Federal fiscal year 2022 covered October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022.
On criminal history, 77% of the group were in category I, the lowest category, and 2% were in category VI, the highest.
What Is Missing
There are no acquittals or dismissals in this data, so it cannot show how often cases in this band ended without a conviction. Courts-martial cannot be compared, because military records rarely state a larceny's dollar value and do not track criminal history.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2022 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$550,001 to $3.5 million" (857), 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 2021 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2023 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2022 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2022 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2022 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2022 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2022 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2022 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2022 (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.