Federal Extortion and Racketeering Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
13 people were sentenced in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for extortion and racketeering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 9 of the 13 (69%) were sentenced to prison, with a median prison term of 14 months. 9 of the 13 had a primary guideline for making or financing an extortionate exten
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, F › Extortion and Racketeering: Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In brief: 13 people were sentenced in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for extortion and racketeering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 9 of the 13 (69%) were sentenced to prison, with a median prison term of 14 months. 9 of the 13 had a primary guideline for making or financing an extortionate extension of credit.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 13 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.
Mostly One Kind of Extortion Guideline
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Extortion/Racketeering" offense type covers several guidelines. In this district, the most common was §2E2.1, Making or Financing an Extortionate Extension of Credit, with 9 people.
Next was §2E4.1, Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco, with 2 people. §2B3.3, Blackmail and Similar Forms of Extortion, and §2E5.1, Offering, Accepting, or Soliciting a Bribe or Gratuity Affecting the Operation of an Employee Welfare or Pension Benefit Plan, had 1 person each.
These 13 cases were less than 1% of the 5,462 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
9 of the 13 people (69%) received a prison term. 3 (23%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 14 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. For this offense type across all 94 districts, 81% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 30 months. Both figures are higher than the district's.
The median for all offenses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was 42 months.
Guilty Pleas and the One Trial
12 of the 13 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 95% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 16 months. After a trial it was 12 months, but that figure comes from 1 person. It cannot be used to compare pleas with trials.
Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 13 people with that information recorded.
Below-Range Sentences Were Common
The sentence was within the guideline range for 23% of the 13 people (3). It was below the range at the government's request for 46% (6), and below the range without a government request for 31% (4). None was above the range.
For this offense type across all districts, 36% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 34%. The share within the range here was lower than both.
After Prison and Money Orders
9 people (69%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 (38%), and restitution for 4 (31%).
62% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Figures
5 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 8 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table lists 1 to 4 people in each year with cases, so the yearly medians are not a basis for a trend. The highest yearly median shown is 33 months, in fiscal year 2023, when 4 people were sentenced.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 14 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 3 | 6 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 2 | 6 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 33 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Leave Out
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data, which counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The sheet gives no details about the conduct in any case, so it cannot explain why the district's median prison term is lower than the all-district median.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Extortion/Racketeering" (13). 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 Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 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.