Federal Extortion and Racketeering Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
21 people were sentenced in the District of South Carolina for extortion and racketeering offenses, and all 21 pleaded guilty. Only 10 (48%) received a prison term, compared with 81% across all 94 districts, and 8 (38%) received probation only. The median prison term was 21 months. The cases covered
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016– › Extortion and Racketeering: District of South Carolina
In brief: 21 people were sentenced in the District of South Carolina for extortion and racketeering offenses, and all 21 pleaded guilty. Only 10 (48%) received a prison term, compared with 81% across all 94 districts, and 8 (38%) received probation only. The median prison term was 21 months. The cases covered fiscal years 2016 to 2023.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 21 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.
Fewer Prison Terms Than Nationally
10 of the 21 people (48%) received a prison term, and 8 (38%) received probation only. For this offense type across all 94 districts, 81% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison here, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 101.2 months or more, and a quarter received 16.5 months or less. Across all 94 districts, the median was 30 months.
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 48.2 months.
Which Guidelines Applied
"Extortion/Racketeering" is the Commission's offense type, based on the primary guideline. 11 people were sentenced mainly under §2B3.3 (Blackmail and Similar Forms of Extortion), and 5 under §2E1.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations).
2 were sentenced under §2E1.4 (Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-For-Hire), and 1 under §2B3.2 (Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage).
The group was less than 1% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district.
Government-Requested Reductions
For 20 people, the position against the guideline range is recorded. 50% (10) of sentences were within the range, and 35% (7) were below it at the government's request. 10% (2) were below it without a request, and 5% (1) was above it.
For this offense type across all 94 districts, 36% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 47% were.
A mandatory minimum applied to 1 of the 21 people (5%).
Pleas
All 21 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. 71% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 29% were straight pleas.
Across all 94 districts, 95% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 98%.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release
Restitution was ordered for 14 people (67%), and a fine for 2 (10%). 9 people (43%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
Prior Record
80% had the least prior record (criminal history category I), and 5% had the most (category VI). Courts-martial do not record this measure.
Most Cases Came Early in the Period
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 18 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 3. The table shows each year, and the records contain no cases for fiscal year 2021 in this category.
Counts of 1 to 9 per year are small. The records cannot show why the counts differ, and several years list the median as not available.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | n/a | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 1 | 135 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 9 | 21 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2019 | 3 | 15 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 1 | 63 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 114 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, and this post reports federal numbers only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Extortion/Racketeering" (21). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, 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.