Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2024
Fiscal year 2024 had 452 people sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss over $3.5 million, the largest yearly count for this band from 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 48 months (4 years) for the 432 people sent to prison. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 41 peopl
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Mill › over $3.5 million: FY2024
In brief: Fiscal year 2024 had 452 people sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss over $3.5 million, the largest yearly count for this band from 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 48 months (4 years) for the 432 people sent to prison. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 41 people (9%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 452 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024. 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 Largest Yearly Group for This Band
The yearly table covers fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The 452 people sentenced in 2024 are the highest count in it, with 2025 next at 443.
All of them were sentenced under guideline §2B1.1, the theft and fraud guideline, with a recorded loss above $3.5 million. The data shows how many were sentenced, not why the number rose or fell.
| 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% |
Prison Terms Ordered in 2024
Out of 452 people, 432 (96%) were sentenced to prison. Probation only went to 14 (3%), with no prison or other confinement.
The middle prison term was 48 months. At the low end, a quarter of those in prison received 24 months or less. At the high end, a quarter received 81.2 months or more.
The 48-month median was lower than this band's median of 54 months across all fiscal years from 2016 to 2025, a period that included 3,842 people.
Mandatory Minimums and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 41 people in 2024, or 9% of the group. A mandatory minimum is the shortest prison term a statute allows, subject to limited exceptions.
Most people had a low criminal history score. Category I, the lowest, included 84%, and category VI, the highest, included 2%. Court-martial records include no criminal history field.
Guilty Pleas and Trials in Fiscal Year 2024
Guilty pleas came to 414, or 92%. The remaining 38 people were convicted at trial, and each of them was sent to prison.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 44.5 months. The median after a trial conviction was 83 months. A trial case and a plea case can differ in many ways, and the data does not separate them.
Of those who pleaded guilty, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% had none.
How Sentences Related to the Guideline Range
For 205 people (45%), the sentence was below the range at the government's request. For 156 people (35%), it was below the range with no such request.
Sentences within the range covered 84 people (19%). Sentences above the range covered 7 (2%). All 452 records had this information. Reasons for each position are not recorded.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervision
Courts ordered restitution for 398 people (88%) and fines for 23 (5%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 419 people (93%), with a median term of 36 months.
Across all §2B1.1 theft and fraud cases in fiscal year 2024, 5,015 people were sentenced. Their median prison term was 20 months, and 74% went to prison.
Limits on the Comparison
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in these numbers. Fiscal year 2024 began October 1, 2023, and ended September 30, 2024. Court-martial records rarely give a larceny's dollar value, so there is no military count for this loss band.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2024 under guideline §2B1.1 whose recorded dollar loss falls in the band "over $3.5 million" (452), 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 2023 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss Over $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2025 (previous or next year)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With No Dollar Loss, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,000 or Less, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $1,001 to $15,000, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $15,001 to $95,000, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2024 (same year, other loss band)
- Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With the Loss Amount Not Specified, Fiscal Year 2024 (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.