Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2017
Federal judges sentenced 1,489 people for theft or fraud with a loss between $95,001 and $550,000 in fiscal year 2017, and 78% of them went to prison. The median prison term was 21 months. Only 31% of sentences were within the guideline range; most were below it.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to › $95,001 to $550,000: FY2017
In brief: Federal judges sentenced 1,489 people for theft or fraud with a loss between $95,001 and $550,000 in fiscal year 2017, and 78% of them went to prison. The median prison term was 21 months. Only 31% of sentences were within the guideline range; most were below it.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,489 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017. 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 Often Did Sentences Follow the Guideline Range?
Of the 1,489 people, 1,488 had a record of where the sentence fell against the guideline range. Within the range: 458 people, or 31%.
Below the range at the government's request: 450 people, or 30%. Below the range with no government request: 559 people, or 38%. That last group was the largest.
Sentences above the range were uncommon. Just 21 people (1%) received one. The records give the position of each sentence, not the reasons the judge gave for it.
Prison, Probation, and the Median Term
In fiscal year 2017, 1,158 of the 1,489 people received a prison term. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 218 people, or 15%.
The median prison term for those sent to prison was 21 months. The median is the middle value when all prison terms are put in order. The top quarter of prison terms were 34 months or more. The bottom quarter were 12 months or less.
What the Loss Band Means
Guideline §2B1.1 covers most federal theft and fraud. It sets the guideline calculation partly by the dollar loss, using a table of steps. This post groups people by the step from $95,001 to $550,000.
The source is U.S. Sentencing Commission data. It records only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissed cases are left out. A federal fiscal year starts October 1 and ends September 30.
Pleas, Plea Agreements, and Trials
Guilty pleas resolved 1,433 of the 1,489 cases (96%). A trial led to conviction for 56 people.
Most pleas were negotiated. Of people who pleaded guilty, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% pleaded straight, with no agreement.
People who pleaded guilty and went to prison had a median term of 21 months. People convicted at trial had a median of 36 months, based on 55 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. That trial group is small. The records cannot show whether the trial itself made any difference to the sentence.
Release Terms, Restitution, and Fines
Supervised release follows a prison term, with conditions set by the court. It was ordered for 1,142 people (77%), and the median term was 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 1,373 people, which is 92%. Fines were less common, ordered for 80 people (5%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 192 people, or 13%.
Criminal History and Wider Comparisons
Most people in this band had little or no prior record under the guidelines. In fiscal year 2017, 71% were in criminal history category I and 4% were in category VI.
For context, 12,709 people were sentenced in this band from fiscal year 2016 to 2025. Over those years, 78% went to prison, with a median prison term of 20 months. The 2017 prison rate matched that figure.
Across every loss band in fiscal year 2017, 6,358 people were sentenced under §2B1.1. Of that group, 72% went to prison, and the median prison term was 24 months. The band in this post had a higher prison rate and a lower median than the full guideline. The table shows each fiscal year for this band.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,670 | 21 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 1,489 | 21 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 1,328 | 21 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 1,283 | 21 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 944 | 21 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 1,013 | 20.5 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 1,228 | 20.1 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 1,247 | 21 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 1,280 | 18 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 1,227 | 18 months | 98% |
What These Numbers Leave Out
Court-martial larceny cases cannot be placed in this band. Military records rarely give the dollar value taken. The federal figures also leave out anyone not convicted, and they cannot show the facts behind any single sentence.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2017 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$95,001 to $550,000" (1,489), 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 $95,001 to $550,000, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2017 (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.