Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
The Western District of Kentucky sentenced 11 people for bribery or corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2023. All 11 pleaded guilty. 4 (36%) received a prison term, with a median of 32.5 months, and 4 (36%) received probation only.
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In brief: The Western District of Kentucky sentenced 11 people for bribery or corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2023. All 11 pleaded guilty. 4 (36%) received a prison term, with a median of 32.5 months, and 4 (36%) received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 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.
Prison for 4, Probation Only for 4
Of the 11 people, 4 (36%) received a prison term and 4 (36%) received probation only. In all 94 districts together, 3,259 people were sentenced for this offense type, and 74% were sent to prison.
Among the 4 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 32.5 months, or 2.7 years. A quarter received 48 months or more, and a quarter received 28.5 months or less. For all offenses in this district, the median was 57 months. The median for this offense type in all districts was 18 months.
Everyone Pleaded Guilty
All 11 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Across all offenses in this district, 97% pleaded guilty, and in all districts for this offense type, 91% did.
Among the guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 11 people.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range
Within the range were 3 of 11 sentences (27%). Below the range at the government's request were 6 (55%), and below it without such a request were 2 (18%). None was above the range.
For bribery and corruption in all districts, 21% of sentences were within the range. Across all offenses in this district, the figure was 37%. Departures at the government's request were the most common result here.
Restitution and Release
Restitution was ordered for 10 of the 11 people (91%), and a fine for 3 (27%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 4 people (36%), with a median term of 30 months.
On criminal history, 91% were in the lowest category and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years With Cases
The district sentenced 6 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 5 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly table lists fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The largest year was fiscal year 2017, with 4 people.
The medians for fiscal years 2021 and 2023 are listed as n/a because no one in those years went to prison. Counts this small do not show a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 4 | 61 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Guidelines Used
The primary guideline for 6 people was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe). Another 3 used §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity). 1 used §2C1.3 (Conflict of Interest), and 1 used §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery).
These cases are less than 1% of the 3,229 people sentenced in the district.
What the Records Cannot Show
Fort Knox, Kentucky is in the district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The federal data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and with 11 people it cannot show how the district handles this offense type in general.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (11). 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 Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, 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.