Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
In the District of Massachusetts, 43 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of these, 30 (70%) received a prison term, and 6 (14%) received probation only. The median prison term was 15 months, compared with 18 months in all 94 districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2 › Bribery and Corruption: District of Massachusetts
In brief: In the District of Massachusetts, 43 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of these, 30 (70%) received a prison term, and 6 (14%) received probation only. The median prison term was 15 months, compared with 18 months in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 43 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.
How Many Went to Prison
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type is "Bribery/Corruption." In this district, 30 of 43 people (70%) received a prison term, and 6 (14%) received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 3,259 people were sentenced for this offense type, and 74% were sent to prison. The median was 18 months.
Guilty Pleas Were Less Common Here
A total of 32 of 43 people (74%) pleaded guilty, and 11 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 91% pleaded guilty. In this district across all offenses, 95% did.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 18 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 10 people sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas.
Guidelines Used
The most common primary guideline was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe), with 36 people. Next was §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery), with 5.
One person each was under §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity) and §2C1.8 (Making, Receiving, or Failing to Report a Contribution, Donation, or Expenditure in Violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act). These cases were less than 1% of the 4,847 people sentenced in the district.
Few Sentences Were Within the Range
Of the 43 people with the information, 6 (14%) were sentenced within the guideline range. A total of 21 (49%) were below it at the government's request, and 15 (35%) were below it without a government request. Another 1 (2%) was above the range.
In all districts for this offense type, 21% were within the range. In this district across all offenses, 29% were.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 43 people (5%).
Fines, Restitution, and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 21 people (49%), and restitution for 15 (35%).
After prison, 28 people (65%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 24 months. On criminal history, 91% were in the lowest category and 0% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Most Cases Came in Later Years
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 4 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 39. The table has no rows for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Yearly counts range from 1 to 9. The median prison term was 6 months in 2023 and 21 months in 2024. These groups are too small to show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 24 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2017 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 7 | 18 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2021 | 6 | 8 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2022 | 9 | 12 months | 7 of 9 |
| 2023 | 9 | 6 months | 4 of 9 |
| 2024 | 6 | 21 months | 4 of 6 |
| 2025 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
What Is Not in the Records
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served, and the records give no details about any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (43). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, 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.