Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
Of 18 people sentenced in the "Bribery/Corruption" category in the Middle District of Georgia, 5 (28%) received a sentence within the guideline range, and 9 (50%) received a sentence below the range at the government's request. 16 of the 18 (89%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016– › Bribery and Corruption: Middle District of Georgia
In brief: Of 18 people sentenced in the "Bribery/Corruption" category in the Middle District of Georgia, 5 (28%) received a sentence within the guideline range, and 9 (50%) received a sentence below the range at the government's request. 16 of the 18 (89%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2 years).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 18 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.
Most Sentences Were Below the Guideline Range
Information on the guideline range was available for all 18 people. 28% (5) were sentenced within the range. 50% (9) were below the range at the government's request, and 22% (4) were below the range without a government request. 0% were above the range.
Nationally, 21% of sentences in this offense type were within the guideline range, so the within-range share was higher in this district. For all offenses in the district, the share was 66%. In this category, below-range sentences were more common than within-range sentences.
Prison Terms
16 of the 18 people (89%) received a prison term, and 1 (6%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 42 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
Supervised release followed prison for 16 people (89%), and the median term was 24 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 18 people.
How the District Compares With the Nation
Across 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. Guilty pleas were 91%.
The share sent to prison here was higher than the national share, and the median term was higher as well. The district's median for all offenses was 51 months, which is higher than the 24 months in this category.
What Bribery/Corruption Covers
The name is the Commission's offense category. In this district, §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe) was the primary guideline for 15 people. §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery) applied to 2, and §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity) applied to 1.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,094 people sentenced in the district.
All 18 Pleaded Guilty
18 of 18 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial, so the records have no trial figures for this group. Among guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 3 people (17%), and restitution for 8 (44%). In criminal history, 94% were in category I, the lowest, and 0% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years With Cases
The district sentenced 10 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table shows only the 5 fiscal years that had cases, and fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2024 each had 6 people. One year has no median. Because these groups are so small, the yearly medians, which range from 12 months to 48 months, do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 39.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 48 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 |
Limits of the Records
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the facts of any case are not given. Fort Benning, Moody AFB, and Robins AFB are in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (18). 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 Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, 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.