§2B1.5 Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
In fiscal year 2024, 11 people were sentenced in federal court with §2B1.5 as the primary guideline, and 8 of them (73%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 2.5 months. The group is small, and 8 of the 11 sentences (73%) were below the guideline range at the government's request.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2B1.5 Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heri › §2B1.5: FY2024
In brief: In fiscal year 2024, 11 people were sentenced in federal court with §2B1.5 as the primary guideline, and 8 of them (73%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 2.5 months. The group is small, and 8 of the 11 sentences (73%) were below the guideline range at the government's request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024. 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.
Prison Terms in Fiscal Year 2024
Of the 11 people sentenced under §2B1.5 in fiscal year 2024, 8 (73%) received a prison term and 3 (27%) received probation only. Probation only means no prison and no other confinement.
The median prison term for the 8 was 2.5 months. A quarter of them received 6.8 months or more, and a quarter received 1 months or less. These are terms imposed by the court, not time served.
In addition, 8 (73%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median supervised release term was 12 months.
A Plea-and-Trial Comparison Based on Very Few People
In all, 9 of the 11 (82%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 1.7 months. After a trial it was 24 months.
The trial figure rests on 2 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group of 2 cannot establish a pattern, so the comparison is a description of this year only.
Every one of the 9 guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. None was a straight plea with no agreement.
Where the Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
In all, 8 sentences (73%) were below the range at the government's request, 1 (9%) was below the range without a government request, and 2 (18%) were within the range. None were above it.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 11 people with that information recorded.
The share within the range in this year was lower than the 31% for all years of §2B1.5 from fiscal year 2016 to 2025, and lower than the 46% for all guidelines in fiscal year 2024.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 2 people (18%). Restitution was ordered for 8 (73%).
Criminal history differed within this small group. In the lowest criminal history category I were 3 people (27%), and in the highest category VI were 2 (18%). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
About the Guideline and the Count
The Guidelines Manual titles §2B1.5 "Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources; Unlawful Sale, Purchase, Exchange, Transportation or Receipt of Cultural Heritage Resources". Cases count here when this was the primary guideline, which is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission lists all 11 cases under its Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement offense type. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are absent.
Neighboring Years and the Wider Federal Numbers
In fiscal year 2023, 12 people were sentenced under §2B1.5, with a median prison term of 6 months. In fiscal year 2025, 18 people were sentenced, with a median prison term of 12 months. The median in fiscal year 2024 was lower than in both neighboring years, although the counts are too small to call this a trend.
Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 122 people were sentenced under this guideline. In that period, 46% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 11.8 months, and 93% pleaded guilty.
Across every guideline in fiscal year 2024, 61,678 people were sentenced. The median prison term was 30 months and 97% pleaded guilty. The table lists each year for §2B1.5.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 21 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 17 | 8.8 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 9 | 15 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2019 | 12 | 24 months | 92% |
| 2020 | 8 | 12 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2021 | 7 | 18 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2022 | 7 | 11.6 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 12 | 6 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 11 | 2.5 months | 82% |
| 2025 | 18 | 12 months | 94% |
Limits of the Records
The records give no case facts, so they cannot show what conduct led to a short or long term. This guideline has no close court-martial counterpart in the crosswalk used here, so the post reports federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B1.5 (11), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2B1.5 Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2B1.5 Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2B1.5 Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.