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# Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-bribery-corruption-sentences-northern-district-of-california/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:07:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:07:58.000Z
- Description: Only 10% of the 48 people sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in the Northern District of California received a sentence within the guideline range, compared with 21% for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. In this district, 65% received a prison term and the median prison term
- 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 Northern District of California, FY](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-california/) › Bribery and Corruption: Northern District of California

**In brief:** Only 10% of the 48 people sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in the Northern District of California received a sentence within the guideline range, compared with 21% for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. In this district, 65% received a prison term and the median prison term was 12 months. Nationally, 74% were sent to prison and the median was 18 months.

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 48 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 Mostly Fell Below the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the range calculated under the federal sentencing guidelines. For all 48 people in these cases, the information was recorded.

A sentence within the range was given to 10% (5). A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 63% (30), and a sentence below the range without a government request to 27% (13). No sentence was above the range.

For all offenses in this district, 24% of sentences were within the range. For bribery and corruption nationally, the figure was 21%.

## Prison, Probation, and Median Terms

Of the 48 people, 31 (65%) received a prison term. Another 11 (23%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.

In all 94 districts, 3,259 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption. In that group, 74% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 18 months. The district had a lower share sent to prison and a lower median.

## What Bribery and Corruption Means in the Commission's Data

"Bribery/Corruption" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. It groups cases by their primary guideline.

The most common one was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe), with 30 people. Next was §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery), with 12, and §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity), with 5.

One person was sentenced under §2C1.8 (Making, Receiving, or Failing to Report a Contribution, Donation, or Expenditure in Violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act).

## Fines, Restitution, and Supervised Release

A fine was ordered for 31 people (65%), and restitution for 2 (4%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 31 (65%), with a median term of 36 months.

No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 48 people with that information recorded.

## Pleas and Trials

Of the 48 people, 43 (90%) pleaded guilty and 5 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 12 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 5 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

On criminal history, 90% were in the lowest category, category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Small Counts by Year

Fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 13 people were sentenced in these cases. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 35 people were sentenced.

The yearly table lists only years with cases. The count was 11 in 2016 and 13 in 2024, and between 1 and 8 in the other years shown. The yearly medians range from 2.2 months in 2020 to 84 months in 2022, and the 2022 figure rests on 1 person.

Bribery and corruption cases were 1% of the 4,531 people sentenced in the district, whose median prison term for all offenses was 30 months. The records count only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 11               | 54 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 2                | 6 months      | 1 of 2         |
| 2020        | 8                | 2.2 months    | 5 of 8         |
| 2021        | 8                | 12 months     | 8 of 8         |
| 2022        | 1                | 84 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 4                | 16 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2024        | 13               | 8 months      | 92%            |
| 2025        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (48). 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 Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-california/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-california/) (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.