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# Federal Extortion and Racketeering Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-extortion-racketeering-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:59:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:59:30.000Z
- Description: In the District of Massachusetts, 75 people were sentenced for extortion and racketeering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. Of these, 66 (88%) received a prison term, and 7 (9%) received probation only. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 30 months in all 94 districts for this o
- 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 District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-massachusetts/) › Extortion and Racketeering: District of Massachusetts

**In brief:** In the District of Massachusetts, 75 people were sentenced for extortion and racketeering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024\. Of these, 66 (88%) received a prison term, and 7 (9%) received probation only. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 30 months in all 94 districts for this offense type.

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 75 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/).

## Racketeering Cases Led the Guideline List

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type is "Extortion/Racketeering." Within it, the most common primary guideline was §2E1.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), with 39 people.

Next were §2E4.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco), with 12, §2B3.2 (Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage), with 11, and §2E2.1 (Making or Financing an Extortionate Extension of Credit), with 11.

These cases were 2% of the 4,847 people sentenced in this district.

## Prison and Probation

Among the 66 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 8.4 months or less.

In all 94 districts, 1,515 people were sentenced for this offense type, 81% were sent to prison, and the median was 30 months. In this district, 88% were sent to prison. The median for all offenses in the district was 30 months.

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range

Only 12 people (16%) were sentenced within the range. A total of 28 (37%) were below it at the government's request, and 32 (43%) were below it without a government request. Another 3 (4%) were above the range.

In all districts for this offense type, 36% were within the range. In this district across all offenses, the figure was 29%.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 74 people with that information recorded (5%).

## Pleas and Trials

A total of 68 of 75 (91%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. For this offense type in all districts, 95% pleaded guilty.

The median prison term was 21 months after a guilty plea and 20 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 7 people. Among guilty pleas, 82% had a written plea agreement, and 18% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

After prison, 64 people (85%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 7 people (9%), and restitution for 30 (40%).

In criminal history, 64% were in the lowest category and 3% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Numbers Need Caution

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 36 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 39\. The data for this offense type end with fiscal year 2024\. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

Yearly counts range from 3 to 14\. The median prison term was 32.5 months in 2018, 3.1 months in 2022, and 0 months in 2024\. With so few people in a year, these medians cannot be read as a trend, and the table lists them only as separate years.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 6                | 17.5 months   | 4 of 6         |
| 2017        | 9                | 24 months     | 9 of 9         |
| 2018        | 14               | 32.5 months   | 79%            |
| 2019        | 7                | 21 months     | 7 of 7         |
| 2020        | 3                | 24 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 9                | 24 months     | 9 of 9         |
| 2022        | 14               | 3.1 months    | 100%           |
| 2023        | 10               | 5 months      | 80%            |
| 2024        | 3                | 0 months      | 3 of 3         |

## Limits of the Records

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the prison terms are the ones imposed, not time served. The records do not describe the conduct behind any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Extortion/Racketeering" (75). 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.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## 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 District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-massachusetts/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (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.