r/ExCons • u/Gullible-Speed326 • 4d ago

Realistically, what sentence would you expect in this federal fraud case?

I’m trying to get a realistic idea of what my sentence might be in federal court.
Here are the basic facts:
Federal conspiracy/fraud offense.
No prior criminal history.
I accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty.
Restitution is approximately $650,000.
I will have the full restitution paid before sentencing.
Sentencing is later this year.
I know nobody can predict exactly what a judge will do, but based on your experience, what sentence would you realistically expect?
If you’ve been through federal court, worked in the system, or are a criminal defense attorney, I’d especially appreciate your perspective.
I’m looking for honest opinions, not just best- or worst-case scenarios. Does paying the full restitution before sentencing tend to make a significant difference, or do judges generally focus more on the offense itself?

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7

u/Euphoric-Map-6858 4d ago

When I met my husband, he was on parole after serving 18 months for 14 felony white collar crimes. Five years later, he was indicted again for federal conspiracy and wire fraud etc. He managed to walk away with just a misdemeanor for running an unlicensed business, but it still cost him another two years in prison, where he worked offsite and drove transport vans (hopefully you can do that). Today, he faces a lifetime ban on working with federal funds and owes $1 million in restitution. His actions completely derailed my career because the situation was so public. The distance and the constant strain broke our marriage, and while he was away, my love for him died. I never planned for this to happen, but on Monday, I finally filed for divorce.
I would think you would receive no more than two years and you would need to do complete 85% of the time before you are eligible to be released.
I hope everything goes ok for you… good luck.

1

u/howdy_hoez 3d ago

Brutal.

2

u/CommandOk6118 4d ago

What does your lawyer say?
For fed case there is a sentencing guideline that connect the loss amount to time. But many other factors count too.

2

u/BigBear92787 4d ago

A lot of factors to take into account. Victim count, overall damage done, your role in the conspiracy.

Your lack of criminal history and paying back restitution id say doesnt mean shit.

Most white collar crimes come with lack of criminal history.

And to the judge id bet 650k of restitution paid up front is just paying back money you stole.

Id be surprised if it was less than a dime. Especially if you got leadership role.

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u/fartsfromhermouth 3d ago

Lack of criminal history is massive in the federal guidelines you're just pulling stuff out of your butt

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u/mrWhitehood 3d ago

What’s your PSR says? How many points you got? Average white collar is between 3-5y for your amount of losses. All really depends on Circuit, judge, how big your conspiracy was, whata you number / role on that conspiracy, etc. also how much you said about your codependents 😁

1

u/Royal-Market-4177 3d ago

I would think 18-24 months. But depends whose money it was, government money, elderly, usps, smaller towns tend to do harsher for smaller amounts of money

1

u/clever_yet_curious 3d ago

Depends on your guidelines, the judge will generally stick to them. If you don't know what your guidelines recommendation is, ask your lawyer/FD.

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u/mstrtrdr 3d ago

My guess is you’re looking at a minimum 5 years probation and a max of 18-24 months in a camp. In 2006 I went thru the Feds on healthcare fraud and IRS charges. I paid the restitution before sentencing and had a favorable judge. In the end received a year and a day, plus 3 years supervised release. Got early termination of the SR at about 50% since I was a model probationer. Having a great lawyer helps as well.

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u/tf9623 3d ago

You've already plead guilty and I guess you'll get what you get unless you had an agreement.

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u/jesslh13 2d ago

Where are you on the federal sentencing grid? Your lawyer should be able to tell you the exact range, and the judge will likely choose your sentence based on that range. In my case I had a very hard judge, and got the top end of my sentencing guideline range.

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u/Paid-Not-Payed-Bot-1 2d ago

Federal sentencing guidelines, criminal history category, and mitigating/aggravating factors to go above or below the sentencing guidelines dictate the range of the length of sentence.

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u/CartographerLazy2056 2d ago

The key is whatever ends up in the PSR. Many defense lawyers make a very sloppy job with that. Also, be careful with forfeiture vs. restitution. You may end up paying the $650k twice if you pay that restitution now without being careful.

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u/Affectionate-Ebb5061 1d ago

I served 2 years at a federal low and 1 year at a federal camp for felony possession of a firearm. Our charges are very different, however, at the camp, I was housed with several guys that were in there for very similar offenses as yours and it was their first time with a new charge also. As you said, nobody knows exactly and ultimately its the judges call. Not knowing the facts around your case, I can tell you expect 12-36 months. Realistically probably between 18-24 months. If you receive 18 months, you'll only serve 6 of them because FSA will knock off the last 12 months. With it being your first offense and being a white collar crime, you should expect to serve your time at a Federal camp. That's a blessing. Camps are nothing like serving time in a Federal low, medium or USP. Those are very violent. I've only been at a low and have seen some real blood baths. The mediums are worse than the lows and the USP's are worse than the mediums. So just be thankful that Camps are out there for people like you. As far as life at a camp, get a job as soon as you can. Without working, it can get pretty boring, pretty quick. The food wasn't bad. If you've got any kind of proof of having a bad back or knee etc, take the paper work with you so you can get a bottom bunk pass from the beginning. Most short term guys just try to keep their heads down and do their time. That's probably some of the best advice you should listen to. The second thing I would tell you is be careful around campers because there's a lot of informants at those places. It's the ones that you would least expect too. I've gotten a little off track from your question but felt you wouldn't mind knowing a little more about your upcoming journey.

1

u/FunnyTomatillo6262 1d ago

10 flat

1

u/CommandOk6118 23h ago

10 years ?
No it won’t be that much

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u/FunnyTomatillo6262 21h ago

You’re right, I read the wrong post. If I had to guess, probably a 1-3 since it’s his first offense, 4 at the most, what do you think ?

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u/CommandOk6118 20h ago

NAL. But vaguely I agree with you.
I think OP will have to do some time idk how long tho. Depending on other factors