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# Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-bribery-corruption-sentences-middle-district-of-tennessee/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:41.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:41.000Z
- Description: 13 people were sentenced for bribery/corruption offenses in the Middle District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. 12 of them (92%) received a prison term, with a median of 19.5 months. Only 1 sentence (8%) was within the guideline range, compared with 21% across all 94 federal districts.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-tennessee/) › Bribery and Corruption: Middle District of Tennessee

**In brief:** 13 people were sentenced for bribery/corruption offenses in the Middle District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2017 to 2025\. 12 of them (92%) received a prison term, with a median of 19.5 months. Only 1 sentence (8%) was within the guideline range, compared with 21% across all 94 federal districts.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 13 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Sentences Within the Guideline Range Were Rare

The U.S. Sentencing Commission had guideline information for all 13 people. 1 sentence (8%) was within the range. 4 (31%) were below the range at the government's request, and 8 (62%) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.

For this offense type across all 94 districts, 21% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the share was 26%. Bribery/corruption sentences here were within the range less often than either figure.

The data does not say why the court chose a lower sentence in any case.

## Prison Terms

12 of the 13 people (92%) received a prison term, and 1 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 19.5 months. A quarter received 35.2 months or more, and a quarter received 14.5 months or less.

Nationally, this offense type had 3,259 people, 74% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. The share sent to prison here is higher than the national share. The median is a little higher.

The district's median for all offenses was 50 months. These cases were less than 1% of the 2,879 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

9 of 13 people (69%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 91% pleaded guilty, and in the district for all offenses the rate was 96%. Trials were more common in this group than in either comparison.

The median prison term was 19.5 months after a guilty plea and 21.5 months after a trial. The 9 who pleaded guilty all had a written plea agreement.

The data includes only people who were convicted. It cannot show how many trials ended in a full acquittal.

## Which Guidelines Applied

Bribery/Corruption is an offense type defined by the Commission, and it covers several guidelines. The most common here, with 5 people each, were §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe) and §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery).

2 people had §2C1.8 (Making, Receiving, or Failing to Report a Contribution, Donation, or Expenditure in Violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act). 1 person had §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).

## Supervision, Fines, and Restitution

12 people (92%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 (31%), and restitution for 6 (46%).

Criminal history was low. 92% of the people were in the lowest category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 13.

## Counts by Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 7 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 6\. Fiscal year 2017 had the most, with 4 people. Several years in the table have 1 or 2 people.

The yearly medians run from 15 months in 2018 to 42 months in 2019 and 2020\. With counts this small, the table does not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 4                | 22.5 months   | 3 of 4         |
| 2018        | 2                | 15 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 1                | 42 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 1                | 42 months     | 0 of 1         |
| 2023        | 2                | 21 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 1                | 18 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2025        | 2                | 21.5 months   | 0 of 2         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The records do not identify the public offices or private parties involved, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. They also leave out acquittals and dismissals.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (13). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-tennessee/) (overview)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-middle-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-middle-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-middle-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-middle-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.