Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
The District of Colorado sentenced 15 people for bribery or corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. 9 (60%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, the same as the median for all 94 districts. 14 of the 15 pleaded guilty, and the group is small enough that single cases move eve
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 › Bribery and Corruption: District of Colorado
In brief: The District of Colorado sentenced 15 people for bribery or corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. 9 (60%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, the same as the median for all 94 districts. 14 of the 15 pleaded guilty, and the group is small enough that single cases move every percentage.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 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.
A Small Group With a Median of 18 Months
Among 15 people sentenced, 9 (60%) received a prison term, and 5 (33%) received probation only. In all districts, 74% were sent to prison.
The median prison term in Colorado was 18 months. A quarter received 22 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The median for all districts was also 18 months. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, it was 36 months.
With only 15 people, each percentage here stands for a handful of cases.
Offense Type and Guidelines
"Bribery/Corruption" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for an offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe), with 7 people.
Next were §2C1.3 (Conflict of Interest) and §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity), with 3 people each. Another 2 were sentenced under §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery).
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Pleas and the Single Trial
A total of 14 of 15 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. For all districts, 91% pleaded guilty. All guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea, and the person convicted at trial also received 18 months. One case cannot support a comparison of plea and trial outcomes.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
The Sentencing Guidelines produce a range for each case. A sentence within the range was given to 7 of the 15 people (47%). A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 5 (33%), and one below the range without that request to 3 (20%). No sentence was above the range (0%).
In all districts, 21% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, the figure was 36%.
Fines, Restitution, and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 5 people (33%), and restitution for 6 (40%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 9 (60%), with a median term of 36 months.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied (0 of 15). In criminal history, 87% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 0% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years With Cases
The district sentenced 1 person in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 14 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table lists only the years that have cases: 2016, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Counts per year run from 1 to 6, and 2023 shows "n/a" for the median. No trend can be drawn from numbers this small.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 18 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2020 | 6 | 18 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2022 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 15 months | 5 of 5 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. It has nothing on acquittals, dismissals, or cases never charged.
The court-martial data on this site includes Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy, all in this district. Military courts, not this federal court, hear courts-martial, and no record ties an installation to these federal cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (15). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
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
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.
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.
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.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.