> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2B1.4 Insider Trading: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b1-4-insider-trading-fy2020/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:57:09.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:57:09.000Z - Description: Fiscal year 2020 had a small group under §2B1.4, "Insider Trading": 10 people sentenced in federal court. Of the 10, 6 (60%) received a prison term, with a median of 13.5 months, and 8 (80%) pleaded guilty. Because the group is small, one year says little about a pattern. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2B1.4 Insider Trading](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b1-4-insider-trading/) › §2B1.4: FY2020 **In brief:** Fiscal year 2020 had a small group under §2B1.4, "Insider Trading": 10 people sentenced in federal court. Of the 10, 6 (60%) received a prison term, with a median of 13.5 months, and 8 (80%) pleaded guilty. Because the group is small, one year says little about a pattern. 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 10 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020\. 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 Small Group Sentenced in Fiscal Year 2020 In fiscal year 2020, 10 people were sentenced with §2B1.4 as the primary guideline. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. The year ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. The previous year had 35 people under this guideline. The 2020 count is much smaller, but the records do not show why, and a group of 10 is too small to describe a change. ## Prison Terms and Probation Of the 10 people, 6 (60%) received a prison term. One person (10%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 13.5 months. A quarter received 23.2 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less. In fiscal year 2019 the median was 6 months, so the 2020 median was higher. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2020, the median prison term was 18 months. Supervised release was ordered for 5 people (50%), with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 7 (70%), and restitution for 2 (20%). ## Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements A total of 8 of the 10 people (80%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Across federal court in fiscal year 2020, guilty pleas were 98%, so the rate here was lower. After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 7.5 months. After a trial it was 41 months. That trial figure rests on only 2 people, so it should not be read as a typical trial sentence. Among the guilty pleas, 7 of 8 had a written plea agreement, and 1 of 8 was a straight plea with no agreement. ## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range One sentence (10%) was within the guideline range. 3 people (30%) were below the range at the government's request, and 6 (60%) were below the range without such a request. None was above the range. Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 7% of sentences were within the range. For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020, the share was 50%. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 10 people. In this group, 90% were in criminal history category I, and 0% were in category VI. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 18 | 6 months | 94% | | 2017 | 11 | 13 months | 55% | | 2018 | 31 | 12 months | 81% | | 2019 | 35 | 6 months | 71% | | 2020 | 10 | 13.5 months | 80% | | 2021 | 7 | 6 months | 7 of 7 | | 2022 | 17 | 16 months | 88% | | 2023 | 13 | 22 months | 85% | | 2024 | 36 | 5 months | 92% | | 2025 | 28 | 14 months | 82% | ## Context From Fiscal Years 2016 to 2025 From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 206 people were sentenced under §2B1.4\. Of those, 75% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months, and 83% pleaded guilty. The table shows the count, median prison term, and plea rate for each year. Counts range widely, so comparing single years invites more certainty than the numbers support. ## Limits of the Records The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Anyone acquitted or whose case was dismissed is not included. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The Commission places these 10 cases in its fraud, theft, and embezzlement offense type. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so the post reports federal numbers on their own. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B1.4 (10), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. 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) - [§2B1.4 Insider Trading: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b1-4-insider-trading/) (overview) - [§2B1.4 Insider Trading: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b1-4-insider-trading-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [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.