Theft and Fraud Sentences in 2024: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
Courts-martial tried in 2024 produced 77 convictions for larceny, theft, and fraud under Article 121, and the median adjudged confinement was 2 months. Federal courts sentenced 5,015 people under guideline §2B1.1 in fiscal year 2024, and the median prison term was 20 months. Confinement was part of
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In brief: Courts-martial tried in 2024 produced 77 convictions for larceny, theft, and fraud under Article 121, and the median adjudged confinement was 2 months. Federal courts sentenced 5,015 people under guideline §2B1.1 in fiscal year 2024, and the median prison term was 20 months. Confinement was part of 73% of the military sentences, and prison was part of 74% of the federal ones.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 5,015 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
Median Confinement of 2 Months
Of the 77 military convictions, 56 included confinement. The median term was 2 months, and a quarter of terms were 5.9 months or more.
Federal judges imposed a prison term on 3,721 people. A quarter of them received 40 months or more, and a quarter received 6.1 months or less.
Courts-martial and federal courts imposed confinement or prison at about the same rate in this year: 73% and 74%. The federal median term was higher.
| Courts-martial, 2024 | Federal court, FY2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 77 | 5,015 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 73% | 74% |
| Median confinement or prison | 2 months | 20 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 5.9 months | 40 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 67 of 76 with a plea recorded (88%) | 96% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 437 of 5,008 with the information (9%) |
Who Was Convicted at Courts-Martial
The Army had 32 convictions, the Navy 16, the Air Force 15, and the Marine Corps 14.
Officers accounted for 6 convictions, and 1 officer was dismissed. Of the 70 enlisted members convicted, 39 (56%) received a punitive discharge. Only 1 of those was a dishonorable discharge; the other 38 were bad-conduct discharges.
A general court-martial decided 20 convictions (26%).
Plea Rates and Sentences After Trial
A plea was recorded for 76 military convictions, and 67 (88%) were guilty pleas. The median confinement after a guilty plea was 2.5 months, in 52 cases. Only 4 contested convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.7 months, and that number is too small to compare.
In federal court, 4,819 people pleaded guilty (96%) and 196 were convicted at trial. The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 42 months after a trial, based on 179 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Of federal guilty pleas, 92% were under a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas.
Other Parts of a Federal Sentence
Probation alone was the sentence for 1,067 federal defendants (21%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 437 (9%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3,633 (72%), with a median term of 36 months, and 1 person received it for life. Restitution was ordered for 4,090 (82%) and a fine for 401 (8%).
Within-range sentences made up 41% (2,074) of the 5,013 with guideline information. Another 27% (1,357) were below the range at the government's request, 29% (1,463) were below without that request, and 2% (119) were above.
Differences in What Was Counted
The military group is sorted by trial date within calendar 2024. Federal fiscal year 2024 covered October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.
Court-martial figures are adjudged sentences, before clemency or appeal. Federal prison terms are as imposed, not as served. The federal guideline includes embezzlement and property damage in addition to theft and fraud.
In federal court, 73% of defendants were in criminal history category I and 5% in category VI. There is no criminal history field in the court-martial records.
The Wider Record and Its Limits
For 2016 to 2025 as a whole, there were 626 court-martial convictions with a median confinement of 5 months, and 53,639 federal sentences with a median prison term of 21 months.
This data does not show how much money or property was involved in the military cases, and it does not explain any sentence.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7,104 | 22.2 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 6,358 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 5,948 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 5,707 | 22 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 4,356 | 18 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 4,235 | 20 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 5,208 | 21 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 4,904 | 21 months | 95% |
| 2024 | 5,015 | 20 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 4,804 | 20.5 months | 96% |
How We Counted
Courts-martial with a trial date in 2024 ending in a conviction for larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121; federal guideline §2B1.1) (77). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 under primary guideline §2B1.1 (theft, embezzlement, fraud, and property damage) (5,015), U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
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.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
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)
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial (overview)
- Theft and Fraud Sentences in 2023: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Theft and Fraud Sentences in 2025: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Theft and Fraud Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Bremerton vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California
- Army Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 121 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Fighting an Army Larceny Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Army Larceny Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Air Force Article 121 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force Larceny Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 121 in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (court-martial data)
- Article 121 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 121 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (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.