Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2017
The Sentencing Commission lists 201 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud in fiscal year 2017 whose recorded loss was zero. Of those, 119 (59%) went to prison with a median term of 6 months, and 77 (38%) received probation only. Both the guilty plea group and the trial group had a median priso
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, FY201 › no loss: FY2017
In brief: The Sentencing Commission lists 201 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud in fiscal year 2017 whose recorded loss was zero. Of those, 119 (59%) went to prison with a median term of 6 months, and 77 (38%) received probation only. Both the guilty plea group and the trial group had a median prison term of 6 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 201 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017. 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 Was Common in This Group
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 77 of the 201 people (38%). A prison term was ordered for 119 (59%).
The no-loss band as a whole, over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, sent 69% of people to prison. Fiscal year 2017 had a lower prison share than that all-years figure.
Among all theft and fraud cases under guideline §2B1.1 that year, across every loss band, 72% were sent to prison. The no-loss group was sent to prison less often.
Length of the Prison Terms
The median prison term was 6 months for the 119 people who received one. A quarter of them received 9.1 months or more. A quarter received 3 months or less.
For every §2B1.1 case in fiscal year 2017, the median was 24 months. That count covered 6,358 people with losses of every size, so it is a much broader group.
The all-years median for the no-loss band was 5.2 months. The fiscal year 2017 median of 6 months was higher than that.
Did a Trial Change the Prison Term?
Guilty pleas accounted for 193 of the 201 cases (96%). The remaining 8 people were convicted after a trial.
In this year, the median prison term after a guilty plea and after a trial was the same: 6 months. The trial figure is based on 5 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group of 5 is too small to support any general statement about trial sentences.
Of the guilty pleas, 78% had a written plea agreement. The other 22% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervision, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 101 people (50%). The median supervised release term was 36 months.
Fines were ordered for 49 people (24%). Restitution was ordered for 8 (4%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 people (5%).
Where Sentences Fell on the Guideline Range
Every one of the 201 records had the guideline information. Within the range: 83% (167). Below the range at the government's request: 8% (16). Below the range without a government request: 6% (12). Above the range: 3% (6).
In criminal history, 73% were in category I, the lowest. Another 5% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field to set beside these numbers.
Year-by-Year Numbers for the No-Loss Band
The table lists each fiscal year from 2016 to 2025 for this band. It gives the number of people sentenced, the median prison term, and the share who pleaded guilty.
| 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% |
What a No-Loss Count Leaves Out
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in Sentencing Commission data. Acquittals and dismissals are absent.
The data runs by federal fiscal year, from October 1 to September 30. Courts-martial are counted by trial date. Court-martial records seldom state the dollar value of a larceny, so military theft cases cannot be sorted into this or any other loss band.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2017 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "no loss" (201), 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 2016 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2017 (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.