Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 206 of the 1,247 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000 received probation only (17%). Most, 983 (79%), received a prison term, with a median of 21 months. Only 26% of sentences fell within the guideline range.
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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: FY2023
In brief: In fiscal year 2023, 206 of the 1,247 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000 received probation only (17%). Most, 983 (79%), received a prison term, with a median of 21 months. Only 26% of sentences fell within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,247 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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.
Probation Only
A sentence of probation only means no prison term and no other confinement. In fiscal year 2023, 206 people in this band received that sentence, or 17% of 1,247.
The other main result was prison. A prison term was ordered for 983 people, 79% of the group.
Sentences Within and Below the Guideline Range
For 1,245 people, the records show where the sentence fell against the guideline range. Within the range: 324 people, or 26%.
More people received a sentence below the range. Below the range without a government request: 504 (40%). Below the range at the government's request: 394 (32%).
Above the range: 23 people (2%). The data records the sentence's position only. It does not record the judge's reasons.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
Among the 983 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter of those terms were 33 months or more. A quarter were 10 months or less.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 134 people, or 11%.
Guilty Pleas and the Trial Group
The guilty plea rate was 96%: 1,201 of 1,247. A trial ended in conviction for 46 people.
Those who pleaded guilty and were sent to prison had a median prison term of 20 months. Those convicted at trial had a median of 30 months, from 45 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records cannot show what part, if any, the trial played in that difference.
Most guilty pleas, 95%, were made under a written plea agreement. The other 5% were straight pleas without an agreement.
Supervision, Restitution, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release follows release from prison. It was ordered for 966 people (77%), and its median term was 36 months.
Restitution was ordered in 1,130 cases (91%). A fine was ordered in 86 cases (7%).
Criminal history category I, the lowest, included 69% of the group. Category VI, the highest, included 5%.
Other Years and the Full Guideline
The year-by-year table lists this band from fiscal year 2016 to 2025. Over all those years, 12,709 people were sentenced, 78% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 20 months.
In fiscal year 2023, every §2B1.1 loss band combined counted 4,904 people. The prison rate for that group was 75%, and its median prison term was 21 months. The band in this post had a higher prison rate and the same median.
| 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 the Count Includes and Excludes
These figures are from U.S. Sentencing Commission records. Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear; acquittals and dismissals do not. Federal fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023.
Guideline §2B1.1 uses a loss table, and this band follows its steps. Court-martial records rarely show how much a larceny was worth, so military cases cannot be sorted into this band. The records also do not show the facts of any case.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2023 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$95,001 to $550,000" (1,247), 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 2022 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2024 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2023 (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.