Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025
Among 44 people sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in the Eastern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 61% received a below-range sentence at the government's request. Only 16% were sentenced within the guideline range. The median prison term was 22.5 months.
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In brief: Among 44 people sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in the Eastern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 61% received a below-range sentence at the government's request. Only 16% were sentenced within the guideline range. The median prison term was 22.5 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 44 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.
Below-Range Sentences at the Government's Request
The guideline range is the range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Of the 44 people with this information, 61% (27) received a sentence below the range at the government's request. Another 23% (10) were below the range without a government request.
Only 16% (7) were within the range, and 0% (0) were above it. Across all 94 federal districts, 21% of bribery and corruption sentences were within the range. In this district, all offenses together had 40% within the range.
Plea Agreements and Trials
A total of 42 of 44 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement: 100% with an agreement and 0% straight pleas. In all districts, 91% pleaded guilty for this offense type.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 20.5 months. After a trial it was 117 months, based on 2 people. That is too small a group to show how trials and pleas compare in general.
Prison Terms and Other Penalties
A total of 36 of 44 (82%) received a prison term, and 5 (11%) received probation only. In all districts, 74% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 22.5 months. A quarter received 12 months or less, and a quarter received 39.2 months or more. The median for this offense type in all districts was 18 months, and the median for all offenses in this district was 48 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
A fine was ordered for 17 (39%), and restitution for 11 (25%). Supervised release was ordered for 36 (82%), with a median term of 24 months. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 44 people.
Which Guidelines Were Used?
"Bribery/Corruption" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe), with 34 cases. Next were §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery) with 6 and §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity) with 3.
One case used §2C1.8, which covers contributions, donations, or expenditures in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act.
Small Yearly Counts
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,546 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 23 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 21 people. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
Yearly counts run from 1 to 12 people, and one year has no median listed. The yearly medians range from 0.5 months in 2022 to 47 months in 2023. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 4 | 18 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2018 | 3 | 24 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 12 | 23 months | 92% |
| 2020 | 4 | 39 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 7 | 47 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 3 | 6 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 25 months | 1 of 1 |
Criminal History and Installations
In this group, 91% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Beale AFB, Edwards AFB, and Travis AFB, all in California, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
What Is Not in the Records
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and the records do not give reasons for the sentences.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (44). 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 Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of California, 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.