Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 178 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a recorded dollar loss of none. A prison term was ordered for 102 of them (57%), and the median prison term was 6 months. The 3 people convicted at trial had a median prison term of 27 months, compared with 6 mon
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, FY201 › no loss: FY2016
In brief: In fiscal year 2016, 178 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a recorded dollar loss of none. A prison term was ordered for 102 of them (57%), and the median prison term was 6 months. The 3 people convicted at trial had a median prison term of 27 months, compared with 6 months after a guilty plea.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 178 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016. 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.
Guilty Plea or Trial in Fiscal Year 2016
Almost every case in this group ended with a guilty plea. Of the 178 people, 175 (98%) pleaded guilty and 3 were convicted after a trial.
The prison terms after a plea and after a trial were very different. People who pleaded guilty and went to prison had a median term of 6 months. The 3 people convicted at trial who went to prison had a median term of 27 months.
That trial figure rests on 3 people. A count that small can change a great deal with a single case, so it should not be read as a fixed rule about trials in this band.
How Many Went to Prison?
A prison term went to 102 of the 178 (57%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 63 (35%).
Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the no-loss band, 69% were sent to prison. The share in fiscal year 2016 was lower than that.
For people who did receive prison, the median was 6 months. One quarter received 10 months or more. Another quarter received 3.6 months or less.
Measured Against the Guideline Range
All 178 records list where the sentence fell against the guideline range. Most, 79% (141), were within the range.
Sentences below the range are counted by whether the government asked for them. In 14 cases (8%), the government asked for the lower sentence. In 18 cases (10%), the judge went below the range without a government request. Only 5 sentences (3%) were above the range.
Plea Agreements, Mandatory Minimums, and Other Orders
Among the guilty pleas, 74% came with a written plea agreement. The other 26% were straight pleas, entered with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 7 people (4%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 74 (42%), and its median length was 24 months.
A fine was ordered for 40 people (22%). Restitution was ordered for 5 (3%).
Criminal history scores were low for most of the group. In the lowest category, category I, were 75%. In the highest, category VI, were 3%.
The Band Within All Theft and Fraud Sentences
Guideline §2B1.1 covers theft and fraud of every size. In fiscal year 2016, 7,104 people were sentenced under it across all loss bands. Their median prison term was 22.2 months, and 70% were sent to prison.
The no-loss band had a much shorter median prison term than the full group: 6 months compared with 22.2 months. It also sent a smaller share of people to prison.
The table below lists each fiscal year for the no-loss band. It shows the number sentenced, the median prison term, and the guilty plea rate.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 178 | 6 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 201 | 6 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 209 | 6 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 234 | 4.4 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 404 | 5.2 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 240 | 4.5 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 292 | 5.8 months | 99% |
| 2023 | 162 | 6 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 152 | 4.3 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 135 | 4 months | 94% |
Limits of These Records
The Sentencing Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are not part of the 178.
The federal year here is a fiscal year, running October 1 to September 30. Court-martial records are kept by trial date, and they rarely give the dollar value of a larceny. For that reason, no court-martial group can be matched to this band. The records also do not explain what conduct is recorded as no loss.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2016 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "no loss" (178), 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 No Dollar Loss, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2016 (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.