Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Missouri, 22 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Only 12 of them (55%) received a prison term, and 10 (45%) received probation only. Sentences below the guideline range at the government's request were the most common res
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY201 › Bribery and Corruption: Eastern District of Missouri
In brief: In the Eastern District of Missouri, 22 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Only 12 of them (55%) received a prison term, and 10 (45%) received probation only. Sentences below the guideline range at the government's request were the most common result: 55% (12).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 22 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 the Guideline Range More Often Than Within It
The guideline range is the range the Commission's guidelines calculate for each case. In this district, 18% of the sentences for this offense type (4) were within it.
Below the range at the government's request were 55% (12), and below the range without a government request were 23% (5). Above the range was 5% (1).
Across all 94 federal districts, 21% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. The figure for all offenses in this district was 42%. The records do not show the reasons behind any request by the government.
Prison, Probation, and Median Terms
A prison term went to 12 of the 22 people (55%), and 10 people (45%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all districts together, 74% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison.
The median prison term here was 20 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 38.2 months or more, and a quarter received 12.2 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 18 months, which is lower than the median here.
For all offenses in the district, the median was 46 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 22 people.
What Falls Under Bribery and Corruption?
"Bribery/Corruption" is a category set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. A case is placed in it by its primary guideline.
The most common was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe), with 15 people. Next was §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery), with 6 people. One person was sentenced under §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity).
These cases were less than 1% of the 9,425 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Pleas, Fines, and Restitution
Of the 22 people, 21 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. Nationwide, 91% of people sentenced for this offense type pleaded guilty.
A fine was ordered for 10 people (45%), and restitution for 7 people (32%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 12 people (55%), with a median term of 36 months.
Criminal History
In criminal history, 95% of the people were in the lowest category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no military figure to compare.
Counts by Fiscal Year
From fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 11 people were sentenced, and from fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 11 were sentenced. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
The table lists only years with sentenced people. Each year had 6 people or fewer, and the yearly medians cover very few cases. The years marked n/a had no median prison term to report.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | n/a | 1 of 2 |
| 2018 | 3 | 20 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 6 | 11.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 4 | 40.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 4 | 20 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 3 | 39 months | 3 of 3 |
What the Records Leave Out
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the records do not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (22). 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 Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, 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.