> ## 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 2020 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury-fy2020/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:25.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2020, the most common result for the 23 people sentenced under guideline §2B3.2 was a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request: 8 people (35%). Only 7 people (30%) were sentenced within the range. The median prison term was 40.5 months (3.4 years). - 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: FY2020 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2020, the most common result for the 23 people sentenced under guideline §2B3.2 was a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request: 8 people (35%). Only 7 people (30%) were sentenced within the range. The median prison term was 40.5 months (3.4 years). 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 23 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/). ## The Most Common Position Against the Range The U.S. Sentencing Commission records where each sentence fell against the guideline range, which is the range the court calculates for the case. In fiscal year 2020, 8 of 23 sentences (35%) were below the range at the government's request. Sentences within the range went to 7 people (30%). Sentences below the range without a government request went to 6 people (26%), and sentences above the range went to 2 people (9%). Within-range sentences were 49% of the §2B3.2 group in fiscal year 2019 and 29% in fiscal year 2021\. For all federal cases in fiscal year 2020, the share was 50%. ## A Small Group The count is 23 people whose primary guideline was §2B3.2, "Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage." Fiscal year 2020 ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. The Commission's offense type was Extortion/Racketeering. With 23 people, a few sentences can change a percentage by several points. ## Prison Terms A prison term went to 22 of the 23 people (96%), and no one received probation only. The median prison term was 40.5 months. A quarter received 64.5 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. For all federal cases that year, the median was 18 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 23 people. ## Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions A total of 21 of 23 people (91%) pleaded guilty. The other 2 were convicted after a trial. Written plea agreements covered 90% of the guilty pleas, and 10% were straight pleas. The median prison term was 38 months after a guilty plea and 122.5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 2 people, so it cannot be treated as a typical trial sentence. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution Supervised release was ordered for 22 people (96%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 people (17%), and restitution for 7 (30%). ## Criminal History and Court-Martial Records Criminal history category I, the lowest, applied to 48% of the group. Category VI, the highest, applied to 13%. 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. ## The Neighboring Years and the Federal Total Fiscal year 2019 had 45 people under this guideline and a median of 41 months. Fiscal year 2021 had 28 people and a median of 30 months. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 344 people were sentenced under §2B3.2\. Of these, 94% went to prison, the median prison term was 37 months, 92% pleaded guilty, and 33% were within the range. For every guideline in fiscal year 2020, 64,565 people were sentenced and 98% pleaded guilty. The table lists each fiscal year for §2B3.2. | 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% | ## What Is Missing Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records also do not explain why the government asked for a lower sentence or give the facts of any case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B3.2 (23), 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) - [§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 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2B3.2 Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury-fy2021/) (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.