Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021
Of 311 people sentenced in fiscal year 2021 for federal theft or fraud involving a loss over $3.5 million, 285 (92%) pleaded guilty and 26 were convicted at trial. The median prison term for the group was 48 months (4 years). The most common sentence position was below the guideline range at the gov
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Mill › over $3.5 million: FY2021
In brief: Of 311 people sentenced in fiscal year 2021 for federal theft or fraud involving a loss over $3.5 million, 285 (92%) pleaded guilty and 26 were convicted at trial. The median prison term for the group was 48 months (4 years). The most common sentence position was below the guideline range at the government's request: 48% (148).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 311 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 Made Up 92% of the Group
The 285 guilty pleas in 2021 left 26 people who were convicted after a trial. In the yearly table, a guilty plea rate of 92% appears only in 2021 and 2024 for this band.
Nearly all guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement: 93%. The other 7% pleaded guilty without an agreement, which is called a straight plea.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 48 months. After a trial it was 77 months. Each of the 26 people convicted at trial went to prison. A trial group this size is small, and the records do not explain the gap between the medians.
Government Requests for a Lower Sentence
All 311 records listed the position of the sentence against the guideline range. Sentences below the range at the government's request were the most frequent result, at 48% (148).
Without a government request, 103 people (33%) received a below-range sentence. Within-range sentences totaled 58 (19%). Only 2 people, less than 1%, were sentenced above the range. The data does not give the grounds for any request.
Prison Terms in Fiscal Year 2021
Prison was ordered for 292 of the 311 people (94%). Another 16 (5%) received probation only, served without prison or other confinement.
The median prison term of 48 months was lower than the 54-month median for this band over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That full period covered 3,842 people, 94% of whom went to prison.
The middle range of terms ran from 27 months or less for the bottom quarter to 86 months or more for the top quarter.
| 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% |
All Theft and Fraud Sentences That Year
Across every loss band in fiscal year 2021, 4,235 people were sentenced under guideline §2B1.1 for theft or fraud. Of those, 71% went to prison. Their median prison term was 20 months.
People in the over-$3.5 million band went to prison more often than that wider group. Their median term was longer.
Other Parts of the Sentences
Supervised release was ordered for 282 people (91%), and its median length was 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 273 (88%). A fine was ordered for 26 (8%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 23 people (7%). For criminal history, 86% were in category I, the lowest category, and less than 1% were in category VI, the highest.
Gaps in the Records
The U.S. Sentencing Commission tracks people who were convicted and sentenced. Its data does not include acquittals or dismissed cases. Fiscal year 2021 ran from October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.
The court-martial side cannot be divided by dollar loss, because court-martial records rarely give the value of a larceny. Those records also lack a criminal history field.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2021 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "over $3.5 million" (311), 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 2020 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, 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 the Loss Amount Not Specified, 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.