Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2018
Federal courts sentenced 209 people for theft or fraud with no recorded dollar loss in fiscal year 2018. Of those, 142 (68%) received a prison term, and the median term was 6 months. Judges went below the guideline range without a government request in 26 cases (12%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, FY201 › no loss: FY2018
In brief: Federal courts sentenced 209 people for theft or fraud with no recorded dollar loss in fiscal year 2018. Of those, 142 (68%) received a prison term, and the median term was 6 months. Judges went below the guideline range without a government request in 26 cases (12%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 209 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. 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.
Sentences Below the Range Without a Government Request
Federal sentencing guidelines give a range for each case. The judge may sentence inside it, below it, or above it. For all 209 people in this group, the records show where the sentence fell.
In fiscal year 2018, 12% (26) were sentenced below the range without a government request. In those cases the lower sentence was not requested by the prosecutor. Another 6% (12) were below the range because the government asked.
Most sentences, 77% (160), were within the range. A sentence above the range went to 5% (11). The records do not give the reasons for any sentence outside the range.
Prison and Probation
A prison term was ordered for 142 people (68%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was ordered for 55 (26%).
The median prison term was 6 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 8 months or more, and a quarter received 2.5 months or less.
For context, the band over all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had a median of 5.2 months, with 69% sent to prison. The fiscal year 2018 median was higher than that, and the prison share was about the same.
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
Of the 209 people, 202 (97%) pleaded guilty. Another 7 were convicted after a trial.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 5.5 months. After a trial, it was 6 months, based on 6 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. With only 6 people in the trial group, the comparison is weak.
Among guilty pleas, 78% had a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement.
What Else the Sentences Included
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 13 people (6%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 109 (52%), with a median term of 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 39 people (19%). Restitution was ordered for 4 (2%).
On criminal history, 74% were in category I and 4% were in category VI. Category I is the lowest and category VI is the highest.
Compared With All Theft and Fraud Cases That Year
In fiscal year 2018, guideline §2B1.1 covered 5,948 people across every loss band. That group had a median prison term of 24 months, and 74% were sent to prison.
The no-loss band had a shorter median prison term and a lower prison share than the full group. The table shows the same band in every fiscal year from 2016 to 2025.
| 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 These Numbers Cannot Show
The Sentencing Commission data includes only people convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted, or whose cases were dismissed, are not counted.
Federal numbers here are by fiscal year, October 1 to September 30, while court-martial numbers go by trial date. Court-martial records rarely include the dollar value of a larceny. No military group can be placed in a dollar loss band for comparison.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2018 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "no loss" (209), 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 No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2018 (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.