Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, FY2016–2025
Among 12,709 people sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000, the median prison term was 20 months for the 9,933 (78%) sent to prison. After a guilty plea it was 18 months, and after a trial it was 36 months. Fiscal years 2016 to 2025 are covered.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss › Loss: $95,001 to $550,000
In brief: Among 12,709 people sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000, the median prison term was 20 months for the 9,933 (78%) sent to prison. After a guilty plea it was 18 months, and after a trial it was 36 months. Fiscal years 2016 to 2025 are covered.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12,709 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
What Was the Median Prison Term at $95,001 to $550,000?
The median prison term was 20 months for those sent to prison, which is a little lower than the 21 months for all §2B1.1 cases. A quarter received 34 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less.
Prison went to 9,933 of 12,709 people (78%). Probation only went to 1,840 (14%).
These figures describe only people who were convicted and sentenced. A person who was acquitted or whose case was dismissed does not appear in this band.
What Was the Difference Between Pleading Guilty and Going to Trial?
Guilty pleas were entered by 12,302 people (97%), and 407 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 36 months, based on 386 people.
Written plea agreements covered 93% of the guilty pleas. Straight pleas with no agreement were 7%.
Why Is the Within-Range Share Small?
Only 30% (3,774) of the 12,704 people with the information were sentenced within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request was 30% (3,778), and below it without a government request was 39% (4,922). Above the range was 2% (230).
The records show where sentences were placed. They do not show the reasons for a sentence below the range.
A sentence below the range at the government's request is recorded separately from one without it. A sentence below the range without such a request is the judge's own decision. The records separate these categories but do not explain either.
Which Other Orders Were Common?
Restitution was ordered for 11,561 people (91%). A fine was ordered for 724 (6%). Supervised release after prison went to 9,744 (77%), and the median term was 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,598 people (13%). In the criminal history data, 71% were in the lowest category and 5% in the highest.
Supervised release is a period of court supervision after prison. Restitution is an order to repay the loss to the victim. The records count the orders but not the amounts.
How Did the Years Compare?
The count was 1,670 in fiscal year 2016 and 944 in fiscal year 2020, then 1,227 in fiscal year 2025. The median prison term was 21 months in most years through fiscal year 2019 and again in fiscal year 2023. It was 18 months in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
The fiscal year 2024 and 2025 medians were lower than in earlier years. The records cannot show why.
| 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 Do Courts-Martial Records Add?
Nothing directly. Court-martial records rarely show the dollar value of a larceny, so they cannot be set against a dollar band. The UCMJ maximum rises when property is worth more than $1,000 or is military property, a threshold far below this band.
Court-martial records also have no criminal history field, and the federal data counts only convicted people.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "$95,001 to $550,000" (12,709), U.S. Sentencing Commission (LOSSHI). "Loss not specified" means the records show a loss with no amount.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
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)
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, FY2016–2025
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, FY2016–2025
- Army Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 121 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Fighting an Army Larceny Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Army Larceny Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Air Force Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force Larceny Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 121 in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (court-martial data)
- Article 121 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 121 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (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.