Federal Food and Drug Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
Only 5 of the 16 people sentenced in the "Food and Drug" offense type in the Southern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term (31%). 10 (63%) received probation only. In all 94 federal districts together, 32% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
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In brief: Only 5 of the 16 people sentenced in the "Food and Drug" offense type in the Southern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term (31%). 10 (63%) received probation only. In all 94 federal districts together, 32% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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.
A Mostly Non-Prison Category
10 of 16 people (63%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 5 (31%) were sentenced to prison.
The national figure for this offense type is 32% sent to prison, from 451 people in all 94 districts. The shares are close. The district's overall median prison term, across every offense type, was 32 months.
The 5 Prison Terms
The median among those sentenced to prison was 6 months. A quarter received 26 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.
With 5 people, a single long term moves the median and the quartiles. Nationally the median for this offense type was 17.3 months. All terms are imposed sentences, not time served.
Everyone Pleaded Guilty
All 16 people pleaded guilty, so no one in this group went to trial. The national plea rate for this offense type was 98%, and the rate for all offenses in this district was 95%.
88% of the pleas had a written agreement, and 13% were straight pleas.
Statutes and Regulations, Not Tampering
13 people had §2N2.1 as the primary guideline: Violations of Statutes and Regulations Dealing With Any Food, Drug, Biological Product, Device, Cosmetic, or Agricultural Product. 2 had §2N1.1, Tampering or Attempting to Tamper Involving Risk of Death or Bodily Injury.
These 16 people are less than 1% of the 17,081 sentenced in the district across the period.
Inside the Guideline Range
Judges calculate an advisory guideline range for each case. 13 of the 15 people with that information (87%) were sentenced inside it. 1 (7%) was below it at the government's request, and 1 (7%) was below it without a request.
Nationally, 68% of sentences for this offense type were inside the range, against 55% for all offenses in the district. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 16.
Fines and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 10 people (63%) and restitution for 2 (13%). Fines were more common than prison in this group.
5 people (31%) received supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. 93% were in the lowest criminal history category, and none were in the highest.
Yearly Counts
The district sentenced 8 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. No year has more than 4.
Where no one was sent to prison, the table shows "n/a" for the median. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 2 | 3 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 26 months | 3 of 3 |
What Is Not Shown
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the records do not describe what any person did.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Food and Drug" (16). 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 Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, 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.