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# Federal Extortion and Racketeering Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-extortion-racketeering-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:32:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:32:46.000Z
- Description: Of the 66 people sentenced for extortion and racketeering offenses in the Eastern District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2017 to 2025, 38 (58%) received probation only and 27 (41%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 10 months, compared with 30 months across all 94 federal distric
- 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 Eastern District of North Carolina,](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) › Extortion and Racketeering: Eastern District of North Carolina

**In brief:** Of the 66 people sentenced for extortion and racketeering offenses in the Eastern District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2017 to 2025, 38 (58%) received probation only and 27 (41%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 10 months, compared with 30 months across all 94 federal districts. Nearly all were cases under a contraband cigarette guideline.

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 66 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/).

## Most Cases Involved Contraband Cigarettes

"Extortion/Racketeering" is the Commission's offense type, assigned by the primary guideline. In this district, §2E4.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco) applied to 63 of the 66 people.

The rest were under §2E1.4 (Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-For-Hire) with 2 and §2B3.2 (Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage) with 1.

The district's numbers therefore describe mostly one kind of case, and they are not a general picture of extortion or racketeering. These cases were less than 1% of the 7,801 people sentenced in the district.

## Probation More Often Than Prison

Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 38 people (58%). Prison terms went to 27 (41%), with a median of 10 months. A quarter received 17 months or more, and a quarter received 5.5 months or less.

Across all 94 districts, this offense type covers 1,515 people, and 81% were sent to prison. The median there was 30 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served.

## Government Requests and the Guideline Range

Sentences were below the guideline range at the government's request for 65% of the 66 people (43). Another 20% (13) were within the range, and 15% (10) were below it without a government request. None were above it.

Across all 94 districts, 36% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 56%.

## Pleas, Restitution, and Supervision

All 66 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. A written plea agreement covered 97% of guilty pleas, and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.

Restitution was ordered for 63 people (95%), and a fine for 0\. Supervised release followed prison for 27 people (41%), with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 66 people (2%).

## Criminal History

In the Commission's data, 82% were in the lowest criminal history category and 0% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that comparison cannot be made.

## Uneven Counts by Fiscal Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 15 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 51\. The yearly counts vary from 1 to 18, and some years in the table have 1 person each. Medians for those years rest on a single person.

The table shows n/a where no median is available. A fiscal year begins October 1 and ends in September.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 9                | 9 months      | 9 of 9         |
| 2018        | 5                | 12 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2019        | 1                | 12 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 18               | n/a           | 100%           |
| 2021        | 14               | 36 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 2                | 14 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 15               | 3 months      | 100%           |
| 2025        | 1                | 171 months    | 1 of 1         |

## Installations and Limits

Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and Seymour Johnson AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.

Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the records give no facts about any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Extortion/Racketeering" (66). 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 Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (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.