Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, 99% of the 1,013 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000 pleaded guilty. Just 11 were convicted at trial. Of the full group, 764 (75%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 20.5 months.
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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: FY2021
In brief: In fiscal year 2021, 99% of the 1,013 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000 pleaded guilty. Just 11 were convicted at trial. Of the full group, 764 (75%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 20.5 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,013 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021. 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.
Almost No Trials
Guilty pleas accounted for 1,002 of the 1,013 people sentenced in this band. The remaining 11 people were convicted after a trial. In the year-by-year table, 99% is the highest plea rate for this band.
Plea agreements were the norm. Of those who pleaded guilty, 94% had a written agreement with the government, and 6% entered a straight plea without one.
| 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% |
Trial Sentences in a Small Group
Of the 11 trial convictions, 10 people were sent to prison. Their median prison term was 27 months. The median for people who pleaded guilty was 20 months.
A median drawn from 10 people can change a great deal with a few cases. It should not be read as a pattern. The records also cannot show whether going to trial affected the length of any sentence.
Prison Terms and Probation
A prison term went to 764 people, 75% of the group. Probation only, meaning no prison or other confinement, went to 167 people (16%).
The median prison term was 20.5 months among those sent to prison. The upper quarter of terms were 33 months or more. The lower quarter were 12 months or less.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 129 people (13%).
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
Records for 1,011 people show the sentence's position against the guideline range. A sentence below the range without a government request was the most frequent result, at 39% (399).
Below-range sentences that the government requested made up 31% (316). Sentences within the range made up 28% (279). Sentences above the range made up 2% (17).
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Prior Record
After prison, 756 people (75%) were ordered to serve supervised release. Its median length was 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 922 people (91%). A fine was ordered for 61 people (6%).
Under the guidelines, prior convictions place each person in a criminal history category. In fiscal year 2021, 71% of this group were in category I, the lowest, and 5% were in category VI, the highest.
Fiscal Year 2021 in Context
Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 12,709 people were sentenced in this band. Their prison rate was 78%, and the median prison term was 20 months. The 2021 prison rate of 75% was lower than that all-years rate.
Across all loss bands under guideline §2B1.1, 4,235 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2021. That wider group had a prison rate of 71% and a median prison term of 20 months.
Scope and Limits
The U.S. Sentencing Commission data used here lists people who were convicted and sentenced. It leaves out acquittals and dismissals. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
The band edges match steps in the §2B1.1 loss table. Court-martial records rarely state a dollar loss for larceny, so this band has no military counterpart. The numbers do not reveal the facts of any case.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2021 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$95,001 to $550,000" (1,013), 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 2020 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2021 (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.