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# Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2018
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-95001-to-550000-fy2018/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:12:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:12:26.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2018, 1,328 people received a federal sentence for theft or fraud involving a loss of $95,001 to $550,000. Those sent to prison after a guilty plea had a median prison term of 20 months; those convicted at trial had a median of 30 months. Overall, 79% received a prison term, with a me
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to ](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-95001-to-550000/) › $95,001 to $550,000: FY2018

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2018, 1,328 people received a federal sentence for theft or fraud involving a loss of $95,001 to $550,000\. Those sent to prison after a guilty plea had a median prison term of 20 months; those convicted at trial had a median of 30 months. Overall, 79% received a prison term, with a median of 21 months.

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,328 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Guilty Plea or Trial

Nearly every case in this band ended with a guilty plea. In fiscal year 2018, 1,264 of the 1,328 people pleaded guilty, or 95%. Trial convictions accounted for 64 people.

The median prison term differed by how the case ended. It was 20 months after a guilty plea and 30 months after a trial. The trial median counts 60 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.

That comparison has limits. The records cannot show whether the trial itself led to a longer term, or whether cases that went to trial were different from the start.

## Plea Agreements

A written plea agreement was part of 93% of the guilty pleas. The remaining 7% were straight pleas. In a straight plea, the defendant pleads guilty without any agreement with the prosecutor.

## How Many Went to Prison?

A prison term was imposed on 1,047 people, which is 79% of the group. Probation only, with no confinement of any kind, was imposed on 165 people (12%).

Among people sent to prison, 21 months was the median term. The longest quarter of terms were 36 months or more, and the shortest quarter were 12 months or less.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied in 178 cases, or 13%.

## The Guideline Range

The guidelines produce a recommended range for each person. All 1,328 records show where the sentence fell against it.

In fiscal year 2018, 30% of sentences (405) were within the range. Below-range sentences requested by the government made up 31% (413). Below-range sentences without such a request made up 36% (481). Above-range sentences made up 2% (29).

## Supervision, Restitution, Fines, and Prior Record

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,018 people (77%). The median supervised release term was 36 months.

Courts ordered restitution in 1,212 cases (91%). Fines appeared in 76 cases (6%).

The guidelines also score prior convictions into criminal history categories, from category I, the lowest, to category VI, the highest. In this group, 71% were in category I and 5% were in category VI.

## Data Source and Comparison Points

These figures come from U.S. Sentencing Commission records of people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1\. The loss band follows the steps of the guideline's loss table. The data includes only convicted and sentenced people. Fiscal year 2018 began October 1, 2017, and ended September 30, 2018.

Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, this band included 12,709 people, with 78% sent to prison and a median prison term of 20 months.

In fiscal year 2018 the full §2B1.1 group, every loss band combined, counted 5,948 people. That group had a 74% prison rate and a median prison term of 24 months. This band had a higher prison rate and a lower median. The year-by-year table for the band appears below.

| 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 Cannot Be Measured

There is no court-martial version of this count. Court-martial records rarely state the dollar amount in a larceny case. Federal cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are also missing from these numbers.

### How We Counted

People sentenced in fiscal year 2018 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$95,001 to $550,000" (1,328), 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-95001-to-550000/) (overview)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-95001-to-550000-fy2017/) (previous or next year)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-95001-to-550000-fy2019/) (previous or next year)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-no-loss-fy2018/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-1000-or-less-fy2018/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-1001-to-15000-fy2018/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-15001-to-95000-fy2018/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-550001-to-3-5-million-fy2018/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-over-3-5-million-fy2018/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-loss-not-specified-fy2018/) (same year, other loss band)
- [Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-dollar-loss-vs-article-121/)
- [Army Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-121-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Air Force Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-121-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 121 (Larceny): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-121-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 121 UCMJ: Larceny and Wrongful Appropriation](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.