Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2017
Federal courts sentenced 1,064 people in fiscal year 2017 for theft or fraud under guideline §2B1.1 where the records list no dollar loss. 803 of them (75%) went to prison, with a median prison term of 24 months. The 58 people convicted at trial had a median prison term of 61.5 months, while the med
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In brief: Federal courts sentenced 1,064 people in fiscal year 2017 for theft or fraud under guideline §2B1.1 where the records list no dollar loss. 803 of them (75%) went to prison, with a median prison term of 24 months. The 58 people convicted at trial had a median prison term of 61.5 months, while the median after a guilty plea was 22 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,064 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.
Trial Convictions and Prison Length
Most people in this group did not go to trial. 1,006 of 1,064 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 58 were convicted after a trial.
For those who pleaded guilty and went to prison, the median prison term was 22 months. For those convicted at trial and sent to prison, it was 61.5 months. That trial figure is based on only 52 people.
A median from 52 cases can shift a great deal with a few long or short sentences. The records also do not show how the trial cases differed from the plea cases in charges, conduct, or criminal history. The comparison describes plea cases and trial cases as groups; it does not measure what a trial itself does to a sentence.
What "Loss Not Specified" Means Here
Guideline §2B1.1 raises the offense level as the dollar loss rises, in steps set by a loss table. The U.S. Sentencing Commission data places each case in a band based on those steps. The 1,064 people in this post have no loss figure in the data.
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear. Acquittals and dismissals are outside this data. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Prison, Probation, and Supervision in 2017
The median prison term of 24 months equals 2 years. A quarter of those sent to prison received 46 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less.
208 people (20%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 772 (73%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 140 people (13%).
Position Against the Guideline Range
All 1,064 cases had a recorded position against the guideline range. 469 (44%) were sentenced within it. 298 (28%) were sentenced below it at the government's request, and 273 (26%) were sentenced below it without such a request. 24 (2%) were sentenced above it.
Of those who pleaded guilty, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% pleaded with no agreement.
Money Ordered and Prior Record
Courts ordered restitution for 721 people (68%) and a fine for 113 (11%).
69% fell in criminal history category I, the lowest category. 6% fell in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records do not track criminal history in this way.
This Year Against the Wider Numbers
All §2B1.1 cases in fiscal year 2017, in every loss band, numbered 6,358. Their median prison term was also 24 months, and 72% went to prison. This band sent 75% to prison, which is higher.
From fiscal years 2016 to 2025 combined, the band held 10,086 people, with a median prison term of 20 months and 74% sent to prison. The yearly figures are in the table.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,240 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 1,064 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 1,242 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 1,244 | 20 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 715 | 18 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 834 | 16.9 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 1,062 | 18 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 907 | 18 months | 95% |
| 2024 | 908 | 21 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 870 | 18 months | 96% |
Limits of the Data
No military comparison is possible for this band. Court-martial records rarely state the dollar value in a larceny case, so they cannot be divided by loss. The federal records also say nothing about why a loss amount is missing or why any person received the sentence imposed.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2017 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "loss not specified" (1,064), 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 the Loss Amount Not Specified, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2016 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2017 (same year, other loss band)
- 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)
- 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.