Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2019
For federal theft and fraud with a loss over $3.5 million, the median prison term in fiscal year 2019 was 60 months (5 years), based on 351 people sent to prison out of 369 sentenced. Across all §2B1.1 theft and fraud cases that year, the median prison term was 22 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Mill › over $3.5 million: FY2019
In brief: For federal theft and fraud with a loss over $3.5 million, the median prison term in fiscal year 2019 was 60 months (5 years), based on 351 people sent to prison out of 369 sentenced. Across all §2B1.1 theft and fraud cases that year, the median prison term was 22 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 369 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.
The Top Loss Band Against All Theft and Fraud Cases
In fiscal year 2019, federal courts sentenced 5,707 people under guideline §2B1.1 across every loss band. Of them, 75% were sent to prison. Their median prison term was 22 months.
The 369 people with a loss over $3.5 million were a small part of that total. Their median prison term of 60 months was longer. They were also sent to prison more often: 95% of them, or 351 people.
Loss amount is one input among several in a federal sentence, and these numbers do not isolate its effect.
Range of Prison Terms
Probation alone, with no prison or other confinement, was given to 11 people (3%).
Among those in prison, terms varied. A quarter received 33 months or less. A quarter received 92 months or more. The median of 60 months means as many people were above that point as below it.
How the Cases Were Resolved
The sentencing data shows 316 guilty pleas among the 369 people, or 86%. Trial convictions numbered 53.
The median prison term was 51 months for guilty pleas and 102 months for trial convictions. All 53 people convicted at trial were sent to prison, so the trial median covers each of them. The data does not explain the difference between the plea and trial medians, and the cases in each group may differ in ways the records do not capture.
A written plea agreement was in place for 93% of guilty pleas. The remaining 7% were straight pleas.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
Below-range sentences requested by the government were the largest category: 151 people, or 41%. Below-range sentences without a government request followed at 33% (122).
Sentences within the guideline range accounted for 24% (89). Sentences above the range accounted for 2% (7). All 369 records included this information.
Supervision, Money Orders, and Prior Record
Restitution was ordered for 336 people (91%), and a fine for 22 (6%). Supervised release followed prison for 341 people (92%), with a median term of 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 34 people (9%).
On criminal history, 80% were in category I, the lowest category. Another 2% were in category VI, the highest.
Other Fiscal Years in This Band
Taken together, fiscal years 2016 to 2025 include 3,842 people in this loss band, with a median prison term of 54 months and 94% sent to prison. The 2019 median of 60 months was higher than that figure. The table lists each year's count, median, and guilty plea rate.
| 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% |
Limits on What Can Be Said
These figures come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission and include only people who were convicted and sentenced. Dismissed cases and acquittals are absent. Fiscal year 2019 began October 1, 2018, and ended September 30, 2019.
Military justice records cannot be split by this loss band. Court-martial records seldom show the dollar value of a larceny and do not record criminal history.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2019 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "over $3.5 million" (369), 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 2018 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, 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 the Loss Amount Not Specified, 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.