Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2018
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 1,242 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud in fiscal year 2018 under §2B1.1 with the loss amount not specified. 945 of them (76%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 24 months, the same as the median for every §2B1.1 case that year. On
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In brief: The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 1,242 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud in fiscal year 2018 under §2B1.1 with the loss amount not specified. 945 of them (76%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 24 months, the same as the median for every §2B1.1 case that year. Only 41% of sentences fell within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,242 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.
Within, Below, or Above the Range
Before imposing a sentence, a federal judge works out a guideline range in months. The judge may then sentence inside the range, below it, or above it. For 1,240 of the 1,242 people in this group, the records show where the sentence fell.
511 (41%) were sentenced within the range. 352 (28%) were sentenced below the range without a government request. 339 (27%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. 38 (3%) were sentenced above the range.
In this year, sentences below the range without a government request were slightly more common than those below it at the government's request: 28% compared with 27%. Above-range sentences were uncommon.
Who Was Counted
Each §2B1.1 case is placed in a dollar loss band that follows the steps of the guideline's loss table. The people in this post had no loss amount recorded, so they form the "loss not specified" band.
The Sentencing Commission counts only people convicted and sentenced. Cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal do not appear. Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018.
Prison Terms and Other Sentences
The median prison term of 24 months is 2 years. A quarter of those sent to prison received 41 months or more. A quarter received 8.5 months or less.
213 people (17%) were sentenced to probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 907 (73%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term of supervision was 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 141 people (11%).
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
1,186 of 1,242 (95%) pleaded guilty. 56 were convicted after a trial. 92% of the guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement, and 8% were straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. After a trial it was 40 months, based on 53 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show whether those trial cases involved more serious conduct, so the difference is a description and not a measure of a trial penalty.
Restitution, Fines, and Criminal History
Restitution was ordered in 866 cases (70%). A fine was ordered in 108 (9%).
66% of the people sentenced were in criminal history category I. 5% were in category VI. Court-martial records contain no criminal history field.
Fiscal Year 2018 in Context
All §2B1.1 theft and fraud cases in fiscal year 2018 totaled 5,948 people across every loss band. Their median prison term was 24 months, and 74% were sent to prison. The 76% prison rate in this band was higher.
For fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together, the band covered 10,086 people, with a 20-month median prison term and 74% sent to prison. The table shows each year separately.
| 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% |
What Is Missing
The data does not say why no loss amount was recorded for these cases, and it does not give the reasons for any sentence. There is also no court-martial side to this comparison. Military larceny records rarely list a dollar value, so they cannot be sorted into loss bands.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2018 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "loss not specified" (1,242), 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 2017 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other loss band)
- 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)
- 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.