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# Federal Extortion and Racketeering Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-extortion-racketeering-sentences-eastern-district-of-virginia/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:33:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:33:46.000Z
- Description: The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 13 people sentenced for extortion and racketeering offenses in the Eastern District of Virginia in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. Of the 13, 11 (85%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2 years). The most common primary guideline concerned contraba
- 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 Virginia, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-virginia/) › Extortion and Racketeering: Eastern District of Virginia

**In brief:** The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 13 people sentenced for extortion and racketeering offenses in the Eastern District of Virginia in fiscal years 2016 to 2024\. Of the 13, 11 (85%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2 years). The most common primary guideline concerned contraband cigarettes.

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 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](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/).

## What Most of These Cases Involved

"Extortion/Racketeering" is the Sentencing Commission's offense category, and its cases are grouped by their primary guideline. The most common one was §2E4.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco), with 8 people.

Another 3 people were sentenced under §2B3.2 (Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage). One person was sentenced under §2E5.3 (False Statements and Concealment of Facts in Relation to Documents Required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act), and one under §2E1.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations).

## Prison Terms

Of the 13 people, 11 (85%) received a prison term and 1 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months. A quarter received 36.5 months or more, and a quarter received 14 months or less.

Across all 94 districts, 81% of 1,515 people were sent to prison, and the median was 30 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 46 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.

## Pleas

Guilty pleas made up 12 of 13 cases (92%), and 1 person was convicted after a trial. For all districts the guilty plea share was 95%, and for all offenses in this district it was 96%.

The median prison term was 21 months after a guilty plea and 78 months after a trial. With only 1 trial conviction, the 2 medians cannot be compared. All guilty pleas (100%) had a written plea agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 13 people.

## Guideline Range Position

Of the 13 people, 38% (5) were sentenced within the guideline range and 38% (5) were below it without a government request. Another 23% (3) were below the range at the government's request. None was above.

The within-range share was 36% for all districts and 60% for all offenses in this district. Here it was about the same as the all-district figure.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

Supervised release was ordered for 11 people (85%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 8 (62%), and a fine for 1 (8%).

On criminal history, 69% were in the lowest category and 8% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

The district sentenced 11 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. The table shows 6 people in 2017 and 1 or 3 in other years, and 2021 shows no median.

Each count is tiny, and no year can be read as part of a trend. All 13 cases together were less than 1% of the 10,381 people sentenced in the district.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | 3 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2017        | 6                | 16 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2018        | 3                | 37 months     | 2 of 3         |
| 2019        | 1                | 36 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 1                | 33 months     | 1 of 1         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The Commission lists only people who were convicted and sentenced. It has no record of acquittals or dismissals, and it does not describe what each person did.

Fort Lee, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Marine Corps Base Quantico, and Norfolk are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Virginia 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](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 Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-virginia/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-virginia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-sentences-eastern-district-of-virginia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-virginia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-virginia/) (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.