Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2021
Of the 834 people sentenced in fiscal year 2021 for theft or fraud under §2B1.1 with no recorded loss amount, 805 (97%) pleaded guilty. That was the highest guilty plea rate for this band in any fiscal year from 2016 to 2025. The median prison term, 16.9 months, was the lowest in those years and low
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In brief: Of the 834 people sentenced in fiscal year 2021 for theft or fraud under §2B1.1 with no recorded loss amount, 805 (97%) pleaded guilty. That was the highest guilty plea rate for this band in any fiscal year from 2016 to 2025. The median prison term, 16.9 months, was the lowest in those years and lower than the 20-month median for all §2B1.1 cases in fiscal year 2021.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 834 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021. 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.
Guilty Pleas in Fiscal Year 2021
805 of the 834 people pleaded guilty, and 29 were convicted after a trial. In every other year in the table, the guilty plea rate for this band was 95% or 96%.
Of those who pleaded guilty, 90% did so under a written plea agreement. 10% entered a straight plea, with no agreement.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 15 months. After a trial, it was 48 months. The trial number is based on 27 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. It is a small count, and the records do not show how those cases differed from the plea cases.
Where the Numbers Come From
The U.S. Sentencing Commission records each §2B1.1 case with a dollar loss band. The bands follow the steps of the loss table written into that guideline. This post covers cases where the loss was not specified.
The Commission's data includes people who were convicted and sentenced. It leaves out acquittals and dismissals. Fiscal year 2021 covers October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.
Length of Prison Terms
581 of the 834 (70%) were sentenced to prison. The median term was 16.9 months. A quarter of the prison terms were 36 months or longer, and a quarter were 6 months or shorter.
Across all §2B1.1 cases that year, in every loss band, 4,235 people were sentenced, with a median prison term of 20 months. 71% of them went to prison, a slightly higher share than in this band.
| 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% |
Probation, Supervision, and Mandatory Minimums
200 people (24%) received probation only. None of them received prison or other confinement.
537 (64%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 36 months.
88 people (11%) faced a mandatory minimum prison term.
Was the Sentence Inside the Guideline Range?
The position against the guideline range was recorded for all 834. 365 (44%) received a sentence within the range. 220 (26%) received a sentence below it without a government request, and 218 (26%) received one below it at the government's request. 31 (4%) received a sentence above the range.
Payments and Criminal History
Restitution was ordered for 489 people (59%). A fine was ordered for 98 (12%).
69% were in criminal history category I and 5% in category VI. Court-martial records have nothing equivalent.
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the band included 10,086 people, with a median prison term of 20 months and 74% sent to prison.
What Cannot Be Read From This
A single year's high plea rate and low median do not by themselves show a lasting change. The records also cannot explain either figure.
No court-martial comparison is offered. Military larceny records rarely list a dollar value, so they cannot be split into these bands.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2021 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "loss not specified" (834), 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 2020 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021 (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.