Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
Marine Corps courts-martial had the highest confinement rate of any service for larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121): 162 of 189 convictions, or 86%. The median adjudged confinement was 6.7 months. In federal court, 73% of the 53,639 people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1 received prison, and th
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In brief: Marine Corps courts-martial had the highest confinement rate of any service for larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121): 162 of 189 convictions, or 86%. The median adjudged confinement was 6.7 months. In federal court, 73% of the 53,639 people sentenced under guideline §2B1.1 received prison, and the median prison term was 21 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 53,639 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 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.
How Often Marine Corps Convictions Included Confinement
The Marine Corps data has 189 convictions with trial dates from 2017 to 2025. Confinement was part of 162 of those sentences. A quarter of sentences were 12 months or more.
The median was 6.7 months. That median is higher than the Army, Air Force, and Navy medians in the table below.
| Marine Corps courts-martial | Federal court, FY2016–FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 189 | 53,639 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 86% | 73% |
| Median confinement or prison | 6.7 months | 21 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 12 months | 40 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 151 of 172 with a plea recorded (88%) | 96% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 11% |
Punitive Discharges Were Common for Enlisted Marines
Of the 184 enlisted Marines convicted, 138 received a punitive discharge (75%). There were 15 dishonorable discharges and 123 bad-conduct discharges.
Officers convicted numbered 2, and 1 of them was dismissed. With so few officers, nothing general can be said about how the Marine Corps sentences them.
A general court-martial handled 54 of the 189 convictions (29%).
Pleas and Sentences After Them
A plea was recorded for 172 convictions, and 151 (88%) were guilty pleas. The median confinement after a guilty plea was 6.5 months in 136 cases with confinement.
Contested cases that ended in conviction had a median of 5.5 months. Only 14 cases with confinement are behind that number, so it is a thin base for any comparison with the guilty plea median.
A Lower Median in Recent Trials
For trials in 2016 to 2019, the median confinement was 10 months, in 86 cases with confinement. For trials in 2020 to 2025, it was 5.9 months, in 76 cases.
The later median is lower. The records do not show a reason, and the Marine Corps counts in each period are small enough that a few long sentences could change the median.
The Federal Numbers
For fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reports 53,639 people sentenced in cases under guideline §2B1.1. Of them, 39,373 got a prison term and 10,874 (20%) got probation only.
The median prison term was 21 months. A quarter of the people sent to prison received 40 months or more.
Guilty pleas made up 96% of federal cases, and the median prison term after a plea was 20 months. After a trial it was 48 months, in a group of 2,154 people.
A mandatory minimum applied in 5,908 cases (11%), and 71% were ordered to serve supervised release after prison.
The Services Side by Side
Guilty pleas were recorded in 88% of Marine Corps and Navy convictions, 87% of Army convictions, and 55% of Air Force convictions.
The Marine Corps punitive discharge rate for enlisted convicts, 75%, was the highest of any service.
| Service | Convictions, 2016–2025 | With confinement | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | Guilty pleas (where recorded) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 157 | 81% | 3 months | 67% | 87% |
| Air Force | 122 | 79% | 3.6 months | 58% | 55% |
| Navy | 158 | 76% | 6 months | 49% | 88% |
| Marine Corps | 189 | 86% | 6.7 months | 75% | 88% |
What Cannot Be Read Into These Figures
The court-martial figures are sentences adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal. The federal figures are terms imposed, not time served.
Guideline §2B1.1 covers more than larceny, so the federal group is wider than the Article 121 group. Court-martial records also have no criminal history field, and the records do not show what was taken or the value involved.
How We Counted
Marine Corps courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 ending in a conviction for larceny, theft, and fraud (Article 121; federal guideline §2B1.1) (189). Federal: 53,639 people sentenced under primary guideline §2B1.1 (theft, embezzlement, fraud, and property damage), fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (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.
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.
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.
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.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
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)
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial (overview)
- 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. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Theft and Fraud Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Theft and Fraud Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Army Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials? (related comparison)
- Guilty Pleas in Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, Year by Year (related comparison)
- Child Pornography Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 (related comparison)
- Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare (related comparison)
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 (related comparison)
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial (related comparison)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial (related comparison)
- 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)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-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.