> ## 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. # §2B3.2 Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury-fy2017/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:22.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:22.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2017, 4 of the 41 people sentenced under guideline §2B3.2 (10%) received probation only, and 36 (88%) were sentenced to prison. The median prison term was 38.5 months (3.2 years). Restitution was ordered for 18 people (44%). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2B3.2 Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Dam](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury/) › §2B3.2: FY2017 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2017, 4 of the 41 people sentenced under guideline §2B3.2 (10%) received probation only, and 36 (88%) were sentenced to prison. The median prison term was 38.5 months (3.2 years). Restitution was ordered for 18 people (44%). 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 41 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017\. 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/). ## Probation Only and Prison The Sentencing Commission counted 41 people in fiscal year 2017 whose primary guideline was §2B3.2, "Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage." Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 4 of them (10%). A prison term went to 36 people (88%). The median was 38.5 months. A quarter received 69.2 months or more, and a quarter received 19.2 months or less. That is a wide spread, so the median describes the middle of widely different terms. Prison terms in the data are terms imposed, not time served. ## Restitution and Other Orders Restitution was ordered for 18 of the 41 people (44%), and a fine was ordered for 4 (10%). Supervised release followed prison for 32 people (78%). The median supervised release term was 36 months. ## Plea and Trial Results A guilty plea was entered by 38 of 41 people (93%), and 3 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 37 months. After a trial, it was 470 months, based on 3 people sent to prison. That is a very small base, and one very long term can set the median, so the figure says little about trials in general. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 41 people (7%). ## Position Against the Guideline Range The guideline range is calculated by the court before it imposes a sentence. Sentences were within the range for 14 people (34%) and below the range at the government's request for 14 people (34%). A below-range sentence without a government request went to 11 people (27%), and an above-range sentence went to 2 people (5%). In fiscal year 2016, 27% were within the range under this guideline. In fiscal year 2018, 44% were. Across all federal cases in fiscal year 2017, 49% were. ## Criminal History and Court-Martial Records Criminal history category I, the lowest, applied to 46% of the group, and category VI, the highest, applied to 5%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. ## Surrounding Years and the Whole Period Fiscal year 2017 ran from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017\. The Commission's offense type for these cases was Extortion/Racketeering. In fiscal year 2016, 63 people were sentenced under §2B3.2 with a median of 36 months. In fiscal year 2018, 41 were sentenced with a median of 37 months. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 344 people were sentenced under this guideline. Of these, 94% went to prison, the median prison term was 37 months, 92% pleaded guilty, and 33% were within the range. The table lists each fiscal year. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 63 | 36 months | 92% | | 2017 | 41 | 38.5 months | 93% | | 2018 | 41 | 37 months | 83% | | 2019 | 45 | 41 months | 93% | | 2020 | 23 | 40.5 months | 91% | | 2021 | 28 | 30 months | 93% | | 2022 | 23 | 57 months | 100% | | 2023 | 31 | 34 months | 94% | | 2024 | 28 | 30 months | 93% | | 2025 | 21 | 62.6 months | 90% | ## Federal Totals for Context For every guideline in fiscal year 2017, 66,873 people were sentenced. The median prison term was 24 months, which was lower than the §2B3.2 median, and 97% pleaded guilty. ## Limits of the Numbers The data does not include people who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed. It does not give the facts of any case or the reasons for a sentence, and 41 people in one year is not enough to show a trend. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B3.2 (41), 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. **Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge. ## 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) - [§2B3.2 Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury/) (overview) - [§2B3.2 Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury-fy2016/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2B3.2 Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury-fy2018/) (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.