Federal Food and Drug Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
In the District of Massachusetts, 24 people were sentenced for food and drug offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of these, 15 (63%) received a prison term, and 7 (29%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 32% were sent to prison for this offense type.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2 › Food and Drug Offense: District of Massachusetts
In brief: In the District of Massachusetts, 24 people were sentenced for food and drug offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of these, 15 (63%) received a prison term, and 7 (29%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 32% were sent to prison for this offense type.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 24 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.
More Prison Sentences Than in All Districts
"Food and Drug" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases.
In this district, 15 of 24 people (63%) received a prison term. In all 94 districts, 451 people were sentenced for this offense type, 32% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 17.3 months.
Prison Terms in This District
Among the 15 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 20 months. A quarter received 41 months or more, and a quarter received 13.5 months or less. For all offenses in this district, the median was 30 months.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,847 people sentenced in the district.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2N1.1 (Tampering or Attempting to Tamper Involving Risk of Death or Bodily Injury), with 16 people. Next was §2N2.1 (Violations of Statutes and Regulations Dealing With Any Food, Drug, Biological Product, Device, Cosmetic, or Agricultural Product), with 8.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 21 of 24 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 98% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term was 30 months after a guilty plea and 8.9 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 2 people. Among guilty pleas, 67% had a written plea agreement and 33% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The 24 people split evenly: 8 (33%) were within the range, 8 (33%) were below it at the government's request, and 8 (33%) were below it without a government request. None was above the range.
In all districts for this offense type, 68% were within the range. In this district across all offenses, 29% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 24 people.
Release Terms and Other Penalties
After prison, 13 people (54%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 7 people (29%), and restitution for 1 (4%).
On criminal history, 88% were in the lowest category and 0% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years With 1 to 6 People
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 7 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 17. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. The median is shown as n/a in 2019 and 2024.
The largest year is 2021, with 6 people and a median of 18.3 months. Fiscal year 2025 had 3 people and a median of 3 months. These groups are too small to show a trend, and the records give no facts about the conduct in any case. Only convicted and sentenced people are counted, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 20 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 30 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 3 | n/a | 2 of 3 |
| 2020 | 2 | 57 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 6 | 18.3 months | 4 of 6 |
| 2022 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 26.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 months | 3 of 3 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Food and Drug" (24). 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 District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, 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.