Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2020
715 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2020 for federal theft or fraud under guideline §2B1.1 with no dollar loss listed, fewer than in any other year from 2016 to 2025. 500 of them (70%) received a prison term. Their median prison term was 18 months, the same median as all §2B1.1 cases that fisca
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In brief: 715 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2020 for federal theft or fraud under guideline §2B1.1 with no dollar loss listed, fewer than in any other year from 2016 to 2025. 500 of them (70%) received a prison term. Their median prison term was 18 months, the same median as all §2B1.1 cases that fiscal year.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 715 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020. 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.
A Smaller Year for This Band
The yearly table shows between 834 and 1,244 people sentenced in this band in every other fiscal year. Fiscal year 2020 had 715. The records count sentencings; they do not explain why the number for this year was lower.
Across every loss band, 4,356 people were sentenced under §2B1.1 in fiscal year 2020. Their median prison term was 18 months, and 72% went to prison. In this band, 70% went to prison, which is lower.
| 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% |
Prison Terms in Fiscal Year 2020
Of the 500 people sent to prison, the median term was 18 months. A quarter received 36 months or more. A quarter received 6 months or less.
162 people (23%) were sentenced to probation only, without prison or other confinement. 457 (64%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 80 people (11%).
What the Sentencing Commission Counts
Guideline §2B1.1 covers theft, fraud, and related offenses. The Sentencing Commission places each case in a loss band whose cut points follow the guideline's loss table. These 715 cases carry no loss amount in the data.
Only convicted and sentenced people are included. Anyone acquitted, or whose case was dismissed, is absent. The fiscal year began October 1, 2019 and ended September 30, 2020.
How Did These Cases End?
687 of 715 (96%) pleaded guilty. 28 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement, and 11% were straight pleas.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 16 months. After a trial, the median was 55.5 months. Only 24 people convicted at trial were sent to prison, so the trial median rests on very few sentences. The records cannot show whether those cases were more serious than the plea cases.
Sentences Measured Against the Guidelines
714 people had a recorded position against the guideline range. 315 (44%) were sentenced within it. 219 (31%) were sentenced below it without a government request. 157 (22%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. 23 (3%) were sentenced above it.
In this year, below-range sentences without a government request were more common than those the government requested.
Restitution, Fines, and Prior Record
Restitution was ordered for 432 people (60%). A fine was ordered for 84 (12%).
74% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 5% in category VI, the highest. The court-martial system keeps no criminal history field.
For context, the band as a whole from fiscal years 2016 to 2025 covered 10,086 people, with a median prison term of 20 months and 74% sent to prison.
Limits on What This Shows
These figures describe sentences, not the conduct behind them. They do not say why a loss was left unstated in each case. Court-martial records rarely include the dollar value of a larceny, so no military figure can be matched to this band.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2020 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "loss not specified" (715), 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 2019 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2021 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2020 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2020 (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.