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# Federal Extortion and Racketeering Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-extortion-racketeering-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:35:28.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:35:28.000Z
- Description: All 15 people sentenced for extortion and racketeering offenses in the Northern District of Ohio in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty. 14 of them (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 41.5 months (3.5 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median for this offense type was 30 mo
- 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 Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-ohio/) › Extortion and Racketeering: Northern District of Ohio

**In brief:** All 15 people sentenced for extortion and racketeering offenses in the Northern District of Ohio in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty. 14 of them (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 41.5 months (3.5 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median for this offense type was 30 months.

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 15 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/).

## Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea

All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 95% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the Northern District of Ohio, the figure was 96%.

Among the guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement. The records therefore contain no trial sentences to compare with plea sentences.

## Prison Terms and Supervised Release

The median prison term among the 14 people sent to prison was 41.5 months. A quarter received 47.5 months or more, and a quarter received 27 months or less. No one received probation only.

The same offense type across all 94 districts covers 1,515 people. In those districts, 81% were sent to prison. The district's median of 41.5 months is higher than the national median of 30 months, and also lower than the 46 months for all offenses in the district.

Supervised release followed prison for 14 people (93%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (7%) and restitution for 1 (7%). Prison terms are the terms imposed, not the time served.

## Sentences Against the Guideline Range

Sentences were below the guideline range at the government's request for 47% of the 15 people (7). Another 20% (3) were below the range without a government request, and 33% (5) were within it. None were above the range.

Sentences within the range were less common here than the 43% for all offenses in the district. It was also lower than the 36% across all 94 districts for this offense type.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 15 people.

## What the Offense Type Includes

"Extortion/Racketeering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. It is assigned by the primary guideline in each case.

The most common was §2E1.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), with 8 people. Then came §2B3.2 (Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage) with 5, and §2E1.4 (Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-For-Hire) with 2.

These cases were less than 1% of the 7,866 people sentenced in the district over the period. In the Commission's data, 40% were in the lowest criminal history category I and 13% in the highest, VI.

## Which Years Have Cases

Only 5 fiscal years have any cases in this offense type: 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023, and 2025\. Fiscal year 2023 had the most, with 6 people. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 5 people in total, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 10.

These counts are too small to show a trend. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 4                | 36 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2018        | 1                | 6 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 1                | 39 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 6                | 46 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2025        | 3                | 27 months     | 3 of 3         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.

The records do not describe any individual case, so they cannot show why sentences in this district differ from the national group.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Extortion/Racketeering" (15). 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 Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-ohio/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (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.