Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2025
In fiscal year 2025, 135 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a recorded dollar loss of none. The median prison term was 4 months for the 92 people (68%) sent to prison. Both the count and the median were the lowest in the band's yearly table for fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, FY201 › no loss: FY2025
In brief: In fiscal year 2025, 135 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a recorded dollar loss of none. The median prison term was 4 months for the 92 people (68%) sent to prison. Both the count and the median were the lowest in the band's yearly table for fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 135 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025. 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.
The Most Recent Year in the Table
The yearly table runs from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. In fiscal year 2025, the no-loss band had 135 people, fewer than in any other year listed.
The median prison term of 4 months was also the lowest in the table. The guilty plea rate, 94%, was the lowest listed as well.
A single year is a short span. The records do not show why any of these figures differ from earlier years.
| 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 Was the Sentence?
Of the 135 people, 92 (68%) received a prison term. Another 32 (24%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 8 months or more. A quarter received 0.9 months or less. The middle term was 4 months.
Over all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the band had a median of 5.2 months and sent 69% of people to prison. Fiscal year 2025 had a shorter median and about the same prison share.
How Fiscal Year 2025 Compares With All Loss Bands
Guideline §2B1.1 covers federal theft and fraud at every loss level. In fiscal year 2025, 4,804 people were sentenced under it. Their median prison term was 20.5 months, and 75% were sent to prison.
People in the no-loss band went to prison less often than the full group, and their median term was much shorter.
Trials and Guilty Pleas
A guilty plea ended 127 of the 135 cases. The other 8 people were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 4 months. After a trial, it was 6 months, based on 5 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group that small cannot support a general finding.
Of the guilty pleas, 78% had a written plea agreement. The other 22% were straight pleas, made with no agreement.
Guideline Range Position
For all 135 people, the records show the sentence against the guideline range. Most, 84% (114), were within the range.
Above the range: 8% (11). Below the range at the government's request: 4% (6). Below the range without a government request: 3% (4).
Supervision, Fines, and Mandatory Minimums
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 72 people (53%), with a median term of 30 months. A fine was ordered for 25 (19%), and restitution for 4 (3%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 people. In criminal history, 84% were in category I, the lowest, and 3% were in category VI, the highest.
What the Numbers Leave Out
Sentencing Commission data counts people after conviction and sentencing. Acquittals and dismissals are not included.
Fiscal year 2025 covers October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. Court-martial counts follow the trial date. Because court-martial records rarely give the dollar value of a larceny, no court-martial group can be matched to a loss band. Court-martial records also have no criminal history field.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2025 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "no loss" (135), 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 2024 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2025 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2025 (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.