Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 401 people were sentenced in federal court under guideline §2B1.1 for theft or fraud with a recorded loss over $3.5 million. Among the 382 who went to prison, the median prison term was 60 months (5 years). The 59 people convicted after a trial received a median of 114 months, c
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Mill › over $3.5 million: FY2016
In brief: In fiscal year 2016, 401 people were sentenced in federal court under guideline §2B1.1 for theft or fraud with a recorded loss over $3.5 million. Among the 382 who went to prison, the median prison term was 60 months (5 years). The 59 people convicted after a trial received a median of 114 months, compared with 51 months after a guilty plea.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 401 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016. 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.
Prison Terms After a Trial and After a Guilty Plea
Most of the 401 people pleaded guilty: 342, or 85%. The remaining 59 were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 51 months. For people convicted at trial and sent to prison, it was 114 months. That trial figure comes from 58 people.
These medians describe different groups of cases. The records do not show what led to the gap. Cases that went to trial may have involved different facts, charges, or loss amounts within the band.
Plea agreements were common. Among the guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas made without one.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
A prison term was ordered for 382 of the 401, or 95%. Only 13 people (3%) received probation alone, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 60 months. A median is the middle value: as many people received more as received less. The spread around it was wide. A quarter of the group received 100 months or more, while another quarter received 30 months or less.
Sentences Measured Against the Guideline Range
Each of the 401 records showed where the sentence fell compared with the guideline range. Just 27% (110) were within the range.
Below-range sentences were more common. The government asked for a sentence below the range in 144 cases (36%). Another 144 (36%) were below the range without a government request. Only 3 people, less than 1%, received a sentence above the range.
The records list whether the government made a request, but not the reason for it.
Supervision, Restitution, Fines, and Mandatory Minimums
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 374 people (93%). The median supervised release term was 36 months.
Restitution, which requires repayment to victims, was ordered for 370 people (92%). A fine was ordered for 16 (4%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 39 people, or 10%.
Most people in this group had little or no prior record as the guidelines measure it. In all, 85% were in category I, the lowest criminal history category. Just 1% were in category VI, the highest.
How 2016 Compares With Other Years and All Loss Bands
Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3,842 people were sentenced in this loss band. Their median prison term was 54 months, and 94% went to prison. The 2016 median of 60 months was higher than that all-years figure.
Across every loss band, 7,104 people were sentenced for §2B1.1 theft or fraud in fiscal year 2016. In that wider group, 70% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 22.2 months. People with losses over $3.5 million went to prison more often and received a longer median term.
The band's cut points follow steps in the loss table of guideline §2B1.1. The table below gives each fiscal year for this band.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 401 | 60 months | 85% |
| 2017 | 449 | 57 months | 86% |
| 2018 | 390 | 60 months | 85% |
| 2019 | 369 | 60 months | 86% |
| 2020 | 265 | 57 months | 85% |
| 2021 | 311 | 48 months | 92% |
| 2022 | 391 | 54 months | 87% |
| 2023 | 371 | 51.5 months | 89% |
| 2024 | 452 | 48 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 443 | 48 months | 90% |
What These Records Leave Out
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals do not appear, so these numbers cannot show how often prosecutions in this band ended without a conviction.
A federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, so fiscal year 2016 began on October 1, 2015.
No court-martial comparison by dollar amount is possible. Court-martial records rarely state the value of a larceny, and they have no criminal history field.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2016 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "over $3.5 million" (401), 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 a Loss Over $3.5 Million, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2016 (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.