Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2024
The median prison term was 18 months for people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000. That was lower than the band's 20-month median across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 1,280 people sentenced, 976 (76%) went to prison and 224 (18%) received
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to › $95,001 to $550,000: FY2024
In brief: The median prison term was 18 months for people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000. That was lower than the band's 20-month median across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 1,280 people sentenced, 976 (76%) went to prison and 224 (18%) received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,280 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024. 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.
An 18-Month Median
For the 976 people sent to prison, the median term was 18 months. A quarter of prison terms were 31 months or more, and a quarter were 8 months or less.
The year-by-year table shows a median of 21 months in most earlier years for this band. Fiscal years 2024 and 2025 both show 18 months. The records cannot show why the median was lower in those years.
| 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% |
Who Went to Prison
Of 1,280 people in this band, 976 received a prison term, or 76%. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the band's prison rate was 78%, so the 2024 rate was a little lower.
Probation only was the sentence for 224 people (18%). Those people served no prison time or other confinement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 116 people, or 9%.
Pleas, Agreements, and Trials
In fiscal year 2024, 1,246 of the 1,280 people pleaded guilty (97%). The other 34 were convicted at trial.
People who pleaded guilty had a median prison term of 18 months. People convicted at trial had a median of 33 months. The trial median comes from 31 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison, which is a small number. These records do not explain the difference.
Written plea agreements accompanied 94% of guilty pleas. Straight pleas, with no agreement, were 6%.
Sentences and the Guideline Range
The sentencing guidelines set a recommended range, and the judge decides where the sentence falls. All 1,280 records show that position.
The groups were close in size. Within the range: 31% (392). Below the range at the government's request: 31% (391). Below the range with no government request: 37% (473). Above the range: 2% (24).
Other Orders and Prior Record
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 968 people (76%), with a median term of 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 1,144 people (89%). A fine was ordered for 93 people (7%).
By criminal history, 71% were in category I and 4% were in category VI. Category I is the lowest and category VI the highest.
All Theft and Fraud Sentences That Year
Under guideline §2B1.1, counting every loss band, 5,015 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2024. Among them, 74% went to prison, and the median prison term was 20 months.
This band had a higher prison rate than that wider group, and a lower median prison term.
Limits of This Count
U.S. Sentencing Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted, or whose cases were dismissed, are not counted. Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.
The band's dollar limits are steps in the §2B1.1 loss table. No court-martial figures appear here, because court-martial records rarely state the dollar value of a larceny. The data also does not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2024 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$95,001 to $550,000" (1,280), 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 2023 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2025 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2024 (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.