Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Louisiana, 37 people were sentenced in the "Bribery/Corruption" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2023. Of them, 22 (59%) received a prison term, with a median of 48 months (4 years). In all 94 federal districts the median for this offense type was 18 months.
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In brief: In the Eastern District of Louisiana, 37 people were sentenced in the "Bribery/Corruption" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2023. Of them, 22 (59%) received a prison term, with a median of 48 months (4 years). In all 94 federal districts the median for this offense type was 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 37 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.
Median Prison Term Compared With the Nation
Among the 22 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 48 months. A quarter received 54 months or more, and a quarter received 31.8 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 3,259 people were sentenced in this offense type, 74% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 60 months.
Prison and Probation Only
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 10 of the 37 people (27%). Prison went to 22 people (59%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 22 people (59%), with a median term of 30 months. A fine was ordered for 7 people (19%), and restitution for 17 (46%).
Guidelines Used in These Cases
The Commission's "Bribery/Corruption" category is based on the main sentencing guideline. The most common was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe), with 28 cases.
Next was §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery), with 8 cases. One case fell under §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity). These cases were 1% of the 2,953 people sentenced in this district.
Few Sentences Within the Guideline Range
Sentences were within the guideline range for 19% of the 36 people with that information (7 people). They were below the range without a government request for 47% (17 people) and at the government's request for 33% (12 people). None were above the range.
In all 94 districts, 21% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district the figure was 56%. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 37 people.
Guilty Pleas and One Trial
A total of 36 of 37 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 46 months. After the trial it was 51 months.
Among the guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement. In all 94 districts, 91% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.
Fiscal Year Counts and Criminal History
The data for this offense type runs through fiscal year 2023. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 18 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 19 people. The most in one year was 8, in fiscal year 2022.
In criminal history, 89% were in the lowest category and 0% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. 2 years in the table have no median prison term listed, and the small counts do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 4 | 74 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 7 | 12 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2019 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 4 | 52.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 8 | 50 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2023 | 5 | 54 months | 5 of 5 |
What These Records Cannot Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals do not appear. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The records do not identify the office held by anyone or the facts of any case. This post reports federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (37). 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 Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, 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.