This study aims to examine the main and combined effects of gender and race on the odds of incarceration and downward departure for fraud offenders processed in federal courts during the fiscal year 2015-2016. Data was obtained from the United States Sentencing Commission’s Monitoring of Federal Criminal Sentences dataset. A sequence of multilevel logistic regressions is performed to elucidate the main and combined effects of race and gender on the decision to incarcerate and depart downward from the federal sentencing guidelines. Findings attest to the importance of studying the interaction of extralegal characteristics in studies of sentencing disparities. Black males were the only race-gender subgroup to experience a statistically significant disparity in the odds of incarceration compared to White males. Additionally, findings reveal significant inter-district disparity in the odds of incarceration and downward departure receipt. Future qualitative and quantitative research avenues for sentencing research are discussed in light of prior research and the findings of this study.
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