Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
156 people were sentenced in the District of New Jersey for bribery and corruption in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 62% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, the same as across all 94 districts. Only 17% of sentences were within the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 › Bribery and Corruption: District of New Jersey
In brief: 156 people were sentenced in the District of New Jersey for bribery and corruption in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 62% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, the same as across all 94 districts. Only 17% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 156 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.
Few Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range
For all 156 people, the position against the guideline range is recorded. 17% (27) were within the range. 57% (89) were below it at the government's request, and 26% (40) were below it without a request. None was above the range.
For bribery and corruption across all 94 districts, 21% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 37%.
Prison Terms and Probation
96 of the 156 people (62%) received a prison term, and 30 (19%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 33.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
For all 94 districts, 74% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. The share sent to prison was lower in this district.
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 37 months, higher than the median for this offense type.
The Guidelines Behind the Category
"Bribery/Corruption" is the Commission's offense type. §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery) was the primary guideline for 77 people, and §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe) for 71.
6 people were sentenced under §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity), and 2 under §2C1.8 (Making, Receiving, or Failing to Report a Contribution, Donation, or Expenditure in Violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act).
The group was 2% of the 6,441 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
148 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 48 months, based on 7 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show the reason for the difference.
Fines, Restitution, and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 66 people (42%), and restitution for 64 (41%). 93 people (60%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months.
A mandatory minimum applied to 2 of the 156 people with that information recorded (1%).
Criminal History
91% of the group fell in category I, the least prior record, and 0% fell in category VI, the most. Courts-martial do not record this measure.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 84 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 72. Federal fiscal years start on October 1.
Yearly counts run from 7 to 28 people, and the medians run from 6 months to 35 months. These groups are small, and the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 28 | 24 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 15 | 25.5 months | 93% |
| 2018 | 26 | 27 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 15 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 10 | 35 months | 90% |
| 2021 | 7 | 12 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2022 | 11 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 9 | 18 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2024 | 16 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 19 | 8 months | 95% |
What the Records Cannot Show
Defendants who were acquitted or whose charges were dismissed are not counted, so the data cannot show how many bribery cases ended without a conviction. Each prison term is the one the court ordered, not the time served.
This post covers federal numbers only. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is in New Jersey, and its courts-martial are heard in military courts.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Jersey (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Jersey") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (156). 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 New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, 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.