Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2019
In fiscal year 2019, the median federal prison term for theft or fraud cases with no loss amount specified was 20 months. That figure covers 901 of the 1,244 people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1 in this band. It was lower than the 22-month median across all §2B1.1 cases that year, and 266 people
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In brief: In fiscal year 2019, the median federal prison term for theft or fraud cases with no loss amount specified was 20 months. That figure covers 901 of the 1,244 people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1 in this band. It was lower than the 22-month median across all §2B1.1 cases that year, and 266 people (21%) received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,244 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019. 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.
Median Prison Term and Its Spread
901 of the 1,244 people (72%) received a prison term. The median for that group was 20 months. A quarter were sentenced to 37 months or more, and a quarter to 6 months or less.
The 20-month median matches the median for this loss band over fiscal years 2016 to 2025 combined. In those years the band covered 10,086 people, and 74% were sent to prison. In fiscal year 2019 the share sent to prison was lower, at 72%.
Probation and Supervised Release
266 people (21%) received probation only. That means no prison and no other form of confinement.
850 (68%) were ordered to serve supervised release after leaving prison. Supervised release is a period of court supervision that follows a prison term. Its median length here was 36 months.
How the Band Is Defined
The U.S. Sentencing Commission groups §2B1.1 cases by dollar loss, using cut points that match the steps of the guideline's loss table. Cases with no loss figure in the data form this band.
The Commission's data includes only people convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted. Fiscal year 2019 began October 1, 2018 and ended September 30, 2019.
Pleas and Trials
1,190 of 1,244 (96%) pleaded guilty. 54 were convicted after a trial. 91% of guilty pleas included a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 30 months after a trial. The trial median comes from 48 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The data does not show what else differed between plea and trial cases.
Guideline Range, Mandatory Minimums, and Orders to Pay
The guideline range is the span of months that the federal sentencing guidelines produce for a case. A judge calculates it first and may then depart from it. A below-range sentence "at the government's request" is one the prosecutor asked for.
1,243 people had a recorded position against the guideline range. 579 (47%) were sentenced within it. 315 (25%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. 325 (26%) were sentenced below it without a government request. 24 (2%) were sentenced above it.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 155 people (12%).
Restitution was ordered for 826 (66%), and a fine for 133 (11%).
Criminal History and the Wider Year
68% were in criminal history category I and 4% in category VI. Court-martial records do not include criminal history.
Across every loss band, 5,707 people were sentenced under §2B1.1 in fiscal year 2019, and 75% went to prison. The table lists this band year by year.
| 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% |
Questions the Data Leaves Open
The records do not say why a loss amount is absent or what drove a given sentence. A single year of figures also cannot establish a trend.
A military comparison is not available. Court-martial records rarely give the dollar value of a larceny, so those cases cannot be placed in loss bands.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2019 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "loss not specified" (1,244), 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 2018 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2019 (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.