(a) Base Offense Level: 4
(b) Specific Offense Characteristics
(1) If the loss exceeded $100, increase the offense level as follows:
| Loss (Apply the Greatest) | Increase in Level | |
| (A) | $100 or less | no increase |
| (B) | More than $100 | add 1 |
| (C) | More than $1,000 | add 2 |
| (D) | More than $2,000 | add 3 |
| (E) | More than $5,000 | add 4 |
| (F) | More than $10,000 | add 5 |
| (G) | More than $20,000 | add 6 |
| (H) | More than $40,000 | add 7 |
| (I) | More than $70,000 | add 8 |
| (J) | More than $120,000 | add 9 |
| (K) | More than $200,000 | add 10 |
| (L) | More than $350,000 | add 11 |
| (M) | More than $500,000 | add 12 |
| (N) | More than $800,000 | add 13 |
| (O) | More than $1,500,000 | add 14 |
| (P) | More than $2,500,000 | add 15 |
| (Q) | More than $5,000,000 | add 16 |
| (R) | More than $10,000,000 | add 17 |
| (S) | More than $20,000,000 | add 18 |
| (T) | More than $40,000,000 | add 19 |
| (U) | More than $80,000,000 | add 20 |
(2) If the theft was from the person of another, increase by 2 levels.
(3) If (A) undelivered United States mail was taken, or the taking of such item was an object of the offense; or (B) the stolen property received, transported, transferred, transmitted, or possessed was undelivered United States mail, and the offense level as determined above is less than level 6, increase to level 6.
(4) (A) If the offense involved more than minimal planning, increase by 2 levels; or
(B) If the offense involved receiving stolen property, and the defendant was a person in the business of receiving and selling stolen property, increase by 4 levels.
(5) If the offense involved an organized scheme to steal vehicles or vehicle parts, and the offense level as determined above is less than level 14, increase to level 14.
(6) If the offense --
(A) substantially jeopardized the safety and soundness of a financial institution; or
(B) affected a financial institution and the defendant derived more than $1,000,000 in gross receipts from the offense, increase by 4 levels. If the resulting offense level is less than level 24, increase to level 24.
(7) If the offense involved misappropriation of a trade secret and the defendant knew or intended that the offense would benefit any foreign government, foreign instrumentality, or foreign agent, increase by 2 levels.
(8) If the offense involved theft of property from a national cemetery, increase by 2 levels.
(c) Cross Reference
(1) If (A) a firearm, destructive device, explosive material, or controlled substance was taken, or the taking of such item was an object of the offense, or (B) the stolen property received, transported, transferred, transmitted, or possessed was a firearm, destructive device, explosive material, or controlled substance, apply §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking; Attempt or Conspiracy), §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession; Attempt or Conspiracy), §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials; Prohibited Transactions Involving Explosive Materials), or §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition; Prohibited Transactions Involving Firearms or Ammunition), as appropriate, if the resulting offense level is greater than that determined above.
Commentary
Statutory Provisions: 18 U.S.C. §§ 225, 553(a)(1), 641, 656, 657, 659, 662, 664, 1702, 1708, 1831, 1832, 2113(b), 2312-2317; 29 U.S.C. § 501(c). For additional statutory provision(s), see Appendix A (Statutory Index).
Application Notes:
1. "More than minimal planning," "firearm," and "destructive device" are defined in the Commentary to §1B1.1 (Application Instructions).
"Trade secret" is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1839(3).
"Foreign instrumentality" and "foreign agent" are defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1839(1) and (2), respectively.
"National cemetery" means a cemetery (A) established under section 2400 of title 38, United States Code; or (B) under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, or the Secretary of the Interior.
2. "Loss" means the value of the property taken, damaged, or destroyed. Ordinarily, when property is taken or destroyed the loss is the fair market value of the particular property at issue. Where the market value is difficult to ascertain or inadequate to measure harm to the victim, the court may measure loss in some other way, such as reasonable replacement cost to the victim. Loss does not include the interest that could have been earned had the funds not been stolen. When property is damaged, the loss is the cost of repairs, not to exceed the loss had the property been destroyed. Examples: (1) In the case of a theft of a check or money order, the loss is the loss that would have occurred if the check or money order had been cashed. (2) In the case of a defendant apprehended taking a vehicle, the loss is the value of the vehicle even if the vehicle is recovered immediately.
Where the offense involved making a fraudulent loan or credit card application, or other unlawful conduct involving a loan or credit card, the loss is to be determined under the principles set forth in the Commentary to §2F1.1 (Fraud and Deceit).
In certain cases, an offense may involve a series of transactions without a corresponding increase in loss. For example, a defendant may embezzle $5,000 from a bank and conceal this embezzlement by shifting this amount from one account to another in a series of nine transactions over a six-month period. In this example, the loss is $5,000 (the amount taken), not $45,000 (the sum of the nine transactions), because the additional transactions did not increase the actual or potential loss.
In stolen property offenses (receiving, transporting, transferring, transmitting, or possessing stolen property), the loss is the value of the stolen property determined as in a theft offense.
In an offense involving unlawfully accessing, or exceeding authorized access to, a "protected computer" as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1030(e)(2)(A) or (B), "loss" includes the reasonable cost to the victim of conducting a damage assessment, restoring the system and data to their condition prior to the offense, and any lost revenue due to interruption of service.
In the case of a partially completed offense (e.g., an offense involving a completed theft that is part of a larger, attempted theft), the offense level is to be determined in accordance with the provisions of §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy) whether the conviction is for the substantive offense, the inchoate offense (attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy), or both; see Application Note 4 in the Commentary to §2X1.1.
3. For the purposes of subsection (b)(1), the loss need not be determined with precision. The court need only make a reasonable estimate of the loss, given the available information. This estimate, for example, may be based upon the approximate number of victims and the average loss to each victim, or on more general factors such as the scope and duration of the offense.
4. The loss includes any unauthorized charges made with stolen credit cards, but in no event less than $100 per card. See Commentary to §§2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy) and 2F1.1 (Fraud and Deceit).
5. Controlled substances should be valued at their estimated street value.
6. "Undelivered United States mail" means mail that has not actually been received by the addressee or his agent (e.g., it includes mail that is in the addressee’s mail box).
7. "From the person of another" refers to property, taken without the use of force, that was being held by another person or was within arms’ reach. Examples include pick-pocketing or non- forcible purse-snatching, such as the theft of a purse from a shopping cart.
8. Subsection (b)(5), referring to an "organized scheme to steal vehicles or vehicle parts," provides an alternative minimum measure of loss in the case of an ongoing, sophisticated operation such as an auto theft ring or "chop shop." "Vehicles" refers to all forms of vehicles, including aircraft and watercraft.
9. "Financial institution," as used in this guideline, is defined to include any institution described in 18 U.S.C. §§ 20, 656, 657, 1005-1007, and 1014; any state or foreign bank, trust company, credit union, insurance company, investment company, mutual fund, savings (building and loan) association, union or employee pension fund; any health, medical or hospital insurance association; brokers and dealers registered, or required to be registered, with the Securities and Exchange Commission; futures commodity merchants and commodity pool operators registered, or required to be registered, with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and any similar entity, whether or not insured by the federal government. "Union or employee pension fund" and "any health, medical, or hospital insurance association," as used above, primarily include large pension funds that serve many individuals (e.g., pension funds of large national and international organizations, unions, and corporations doing substantial interstate business), and associations that undertake to provide pension, disability, or other benefits (e.g., medical or hospitalization insurance) to large numbers of persons.
10. An offense shall be deemed to have "substantially jeopardized the safety and soundness of a financial institution" if, as a consequence of the offense, the institution became insolvent; substantially reduced benefits to pensioners or insureds; was unable on demand to refund fully any deposit, payment, or investment; was so depleted of its assets as to be forced to merge with another institution in order to continue active operations; or was placed in substantial jeopardy of any of the above.
11. "The defendant derived more than $1,000,000 in gross receipts from the offense," as used in subsection (b)(6)(B), generally means that the gross receipts to the defendant individually, rather than to all participants, exceeded $1,000,000. "Gross receipts from the offense" includes all property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, which is obtained directly or indirectly as a result of such offense. See 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(4).
12. If the defendant is convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 225 (relating to a continuing financial crimes enterprise), the offense level is that applicable to the underlying series of offenses comprising the "continuing financial crimes enterprise."
13. If subsection (b)(6)(A) or (B) applies, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the offense involved "more than minimal planning."
14. If the offense involved theft or embezzlement from an employee pension or welfare benefit plan (a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 664) and the defendant was a fiduciary of the benefit plan, an adjustment under §3B1.3 (Abuse of Position of Trust or Use of Special Skill) will apply. "Fiduciary of the benefit plan" is defined in 29 U.S.C. § 1002(21)(A) to mean a person who exercises any discretionary authority or control in respect to the management of such plan or exercises authority or control in respect to management or disposition of its assets, or who renders investment advice for a fee or other direct or indirect compensation with respect to any moneys or other property of such plan, or has any authority or responsibility to do so, or who has any discretionary authority or responsibility in the administration of such plan.
If the offense involved theft or embezzlement from a labor union (a violation of 29 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and the defendant was a union officer or occupied a position of trust in the union as set forth in 29 U.S.C. § 501(a), an adjustment under §3B1.3 (Abuse of Position of Trust or Use of Special Skill) will apply.
15. In cases where the loss determined under subsection (b)(1) does not fully capture the harmfulness of the conduct, an upward departure may be warranted. For example, the theft of personal information or writings (e.g., medical records, educational records, a diary) may involve a substantial invasion of a privacy interest that would not be addressed by the monetary loss provisions of subsection (b)(1).
16. In cases involving theft of information from a "protected computer", as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1030(e)(2)(A) or (B), an upward departure may be warranted where the defendant sought the stolen information to further a broader criminal purpose.
Background: The value of the property stolen plays an important role in determining sentences for theft and other offenses involving stolen property because it is an indicator of both the harm to the victim and the gain to the defendant. Because of the structure of the Sentencing Table (Chapter 5, Part A), subsection (b)(1) results in an overlapping range of enhancements based on the loss.
The guidelines provide an enhancement for more than minimal planning, which includes most offense behavior involving affirmative acts on multiple occasions. Planning and repeated acts are indicative of an intention and potential to do considerable harm. Also, planning is often related to increased difficulties of detection and proof.
Consistent with statutory distinctions, an increased minimum offense level is provided for the theft of undelivered mail. Theft of undelivered mail interferes with a governmental function, and the scope of the theft may be difficult to ascertain.
Theft from the person of another, such as pickpocketing or non-forcible purse-snatching, receives an enhanced sentence because of the increased risk of physical injury. This guideline does not include an enhancement for thefts from the person by means of force or fear; such crimes are robberies.
A minimum offense level of 14 is provided for offenses involving an organized scheme to steal vehicles or vehicle parts. Typically, the scope of such activity is substantial (i.e., the value of the stolen property, combined with an enhancement for "more than minimal planning" would itself result in an offense level of at least 14), but the value of the property is particularly difficult to ascertain in individual cases because the stolen property is rapidly resold or otherwise disposed of in the course of the offense. Therefore, the specific offense characteristic of "organized scheme" is used as an alternative to "loss" in setting the offense level.
Subsection (b)(6)(A) implements, in a broader form, the instruction to the Commission in section 961(m) of Public Law 101-73.
Subsection (b)(6)(B) implements the instruction to the Commission in section 2507 of Public Law 101-647.
Subsection (b)(8) implements the instruction to the Commission in section 2 of Public Law 105–101.