Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, FY2016–2025
For the 8,821 people sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million, 8,084 (92%) received a prison term. The median was 33 months (2.8 years). Trials were followed by a median of 60 months, compared with 30 months after a guilty plea.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss › Loss: $550,001 to $3.5 million
In brief: For the 8,821 people sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million, 8,084 (92%) received a prison term. The median was 33 months (2.8 years). Trials were followed by a median of 60 months, compared with 30 months after a guilty plea.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 8,821 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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 Were Sent to Prison?
In this band, 8,084 of 8,821 people (92%) received a prison term. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 525 (6%).
The median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). A quarter received 51 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. All §2B1.1 cases had a median of 21 months.
Probation only is a sentence with no prison or other confinement. It was uncommon in this band.
What Did Trial Convictions Add?
There were 599 people convicted after a trial and 8,222 (93%) who pleaded guilty. The median prison term after a trial was 60 months, based on 585 people. The median after a guilty plea was 30 months.
Written plea agreements were part of 95% of the guilty pleas. The other 5% pleaded with no agreement.
A trial conviction means the person was found guilty after a contested case instead of pleading guilty. The records cannot show whether a longer term followed from the trial itself, from the facts of those cases, or from both.
Where Did Sentences Fall Against the Range?
For 8,816 people with the information, 28% (2,484) were within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request was 34% (3,014), and below it without a government request was 36% (3,155). Above the range was 2% (163).
Sentences below the range are more common than sentences within it in this band. The records do not give the reason for each one.
What Were the Mandatory Minimums, Fines, and Restitution?
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,031 people (12%). Restitution was ordered for 8,012 (91%), and a fine for 438 (5%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 7,953 people (90%). The median term was 36 months, and 1 person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life.
Supervised release is a period of court supervision after prison, and restitution is an order to repay the loss to the victim.
Who Was in the Lowest Criminal History Category?
In the criminal history data, 77% were in the lowest category and 2% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that comparison cannot be made.
How Did the Years Differ?
The count was 1,163 in fiscal year 2016, 582 in fiscal year 2021, and 936 in fiscal year 2025. The median prison term was 36 months in fiscal year 2018 and 30 months in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Guilty pleas were 90% in fiscal year 2018 and 97% in fiscal year 2021.
| 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% |
What Do the Records Not Show?
Court-martial records rarely show the dollar value of a larceny, so no court-martial figures fit these bands. The UCMJ sets a higher maximum punishment above $1,000 or for military property, but the records cannot show where court-martial cases would fall in this federal band.
The data cover only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not here.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$550,001 to $3.5 million" (8,821), U.S. Sentencing Commission (LOSSHI). "Loss not specified" means the records show a loss with no amount.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
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)
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, FY2016–2025
- Army Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 121 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Fighting an Army Larceny Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Army Larceny Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Air Force Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force Larceny Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 121 in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (court-martial data)
- Article 121 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 121 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (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.