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# Federal Extortion and Racketeering Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-extortion-racketeering-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:36:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:36:42.000Z
- Description: The Western District of Missouri sentenced 14 people for extortion and racketeering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 12 (86%) received a prison term, and the median was 15 months, compared with 30 months for all 94 federal districts.
- 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 Western District of Missouri, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-missouri/) › Extortion and Racketeering: Western District of Missouri

**In brief:** The Western District of Missouri sentenced 14 people for extortion and racketeering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of them, 12 (86%) received a prison term, and the median was 15 months, compared with 30 months for all 94 federal districts.

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 14 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/).

## A Lower Median Than the National Figure

The median prison term in this district was 15 months. For the same offense type in all 94 districts, the median was 30 months. The district figure is lower. For all offenses in this district, the median was 72 months.

Among the 12 people sent to prison, a quarter received 84.8 months or more, and a quarter received 2.3 months or less. That is a wide spread for a small group.

Of the 14 people, 12 (86%) received a prison term and 2 (14%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 districts, 81% were sent to prison.

## Why the Category Is Mixed

"Extortion/Racketeering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. It is assigned from the primary guideline the court used, and it covers different kinds of cases.

The most common guideline here was §2E4.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco), with 6 people. Each of 3 other guidelines had 2 people: §2E1.4 (Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-For-Hire), §2B3.2 (Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage), and §2E1.1 (Unlawful Conduct Relating to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations).

With such a small group, a few cases can move the median a good deal.

## Plea and Trial Results

Of the 14 people, 13 (93%) pleaded guilty and 1 person was convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 95% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, 98% did.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. The person convicted at trial and sent to prison received 90 months. A single case does not show how trials and pleas compare in general.

Among the guilty pleas, 85% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Positions Against the Guideline Range

Of the 14 sentences, 36% (5) were within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request were 14% (2), and below the range without a government request were 43% (6). Above the range was 7% (1).

For all 94 districts, 36% were within the range, which is the same share as here. For all offenses in this district, 38% were within the range.

## Release, Fines, and Mandatory Minimums

No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 14 people (0%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 12 (86%), with a median term of 36 months.

A fine was ordered for 2 people (14%) and restitution for 3 (21%). In criminal history, 64% were in the lowest category (category I) and 0% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Year

In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 7 people were sentenced, and 7 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Extortion and racketeering cases were less than 1% of the 7,571 people the district sentenced in all.

The table shows 1 to 4 people per year, and some years have no row. A median of 0 months in 2018 and 120 months in 2022 come from very small groups and do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 87 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 1                | 12 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 4                | 0 months      | 4 of 4         |
| 2020        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | 84 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 1                | 120 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 2                | 46.5 months   | 1 of 2         |
| 2025        | 2                | 18 months     | 2 of 2         |

## What the Data Cannot Show

Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, 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 Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Extortion/Racketeering" (14). 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 Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-missouri/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (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.