Navy-Marine Corps Article 121a Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
Every one of the 36 Navy and Marine Corps cases charging junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 121a (fraudulent use of credit cards, debit cards, numbered since 2019) ended in a conviction.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 121a › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)
Short answer: Every one of the 36 Navy and Marine Corps cases charging junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 121a (fraudulent use of credit cards, debit cards, numbered since 2019) ended in a conviction. Most accused pleaded guilty: only 12% of cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 15% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 121a cases. The median confinement was 5 months, the same as the wider group.
Guilty Pleas in 28 of 32 Recorded Cases
The plea is listed in 32 of the 36 records. Of those, 28 accused pleaded guilty and 4 contested at least one charge. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these figures use only the records that list it.
All 36 cases produced a conviction.
Short Confinement Terms
Confinement was part of 28 of the 36 convictions. The median was 5 months, the same as across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 121a cases. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 1 year or longer.
The band table shows 16 convictions with confinement under 6 months (44%) and 10 with 6 months to 1 year (28%). Only 2 of 36 convictions carried more than one year (6%), compared with 5% in the wider group. None reached 5 years. These shares are close to the wider group in every band.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 121a cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 8 | 22% | 23% |
| Under 6 months | 16 | 44% | 43% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 10 | 28% | 30% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2 | 6% | 5% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 0% |
Bad-Conduct Discharges, No Dishonorable Discharges
Of the 36 convicted members, 25 received a punitive discharge. All 25 were bad-conduct discharges, and none were dishonorable. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 121a cases, 67% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Mostly Special Courts-Martial
Of the 36 cases, 31 were special courts-martial and 5 were general courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 14%, compared with 18% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 121a cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.
Larceny Charged in 16 Cases
Article 121a was the only charge in 7 of 36 cases. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 16 cases. Article 80 (attempt) appeared in 8, Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 81 (conspiracy) in 6 each, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 5.
When and Where
The cases were tried from October 2017 to October 2025. There was 1 in 2017, 0 in 2018, 4 in 2019, 5 in 2020, 9 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 2 in 2024, and 6 in 2025.
Camp Pendleton, California had 8 cases, San Diego, California 6, Norfolk, Virginia 5, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina 4, and Parris Island, South Carolina 3. These installations account for 72% of the 36 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
What Changed and What Is Missing
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It introduced written plea agreements and judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. That rule depends on the offense date, which the records do not give.
The records do not show nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, the evidence, or the plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025 that charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 121a (36 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps Article 121a case.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 121a (Fraudulent Use of Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Article 121a Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 121a, 2017–2025
- How Much Confinement for an Article 121a Conviction in the Army?
- Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Charged Under Article 107 in the Navy-Marine Corps
- Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Charged Under Article 112a in the Navy-Marine Corps
- Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Charged Under Article 121 in the Navy-Marine Corps
- Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Charged Under Article 129 in the Navy-Marine Corps
- NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Charged Under Article 120b in the Navy-Marine Corps
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.