> ## 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 2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury-fy2025/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:29.000Z - Description: The median prison term for the 21 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025 under §2B3.2, "Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage," was 62.6 months (5.2 years). That is the highest median in the yearly table for this guideline, and it is higher than the 24 months for ev - 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: FY2025 **In brief:** The median prison term for the 21 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025 under §2B3.2, "Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage," was 62.6 months (5.2 years). That is the highest median in the yearly table for this guideline, and it is higher than the 24 months for everyone sentenced in federal court that year. The group is small. 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 21 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 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](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 Higher Median in a Small Group In fiscal year 2025, 20 of the 21 people (95%) received a prison term, and 1 (5%) received probation only. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 62.6 months. A quarter received 126 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less. For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, the median was 37 months. The previous fiscal year, 2024, had a median of 30 months. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. | 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% | ## Pleas and Trials Of the 21 people, 19 (90%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. Across all years under §2B3.2, 92% pleaded guilty, and for everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025, 98% did. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 62.6 months, and after a trial it was 146.5 months. The trial number is based on 2 people. Among guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas. ## Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range The guideline range is the one the Guidelines Manual calculates for each case. In this year, 9 sentences (43%) were within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 5 (24%), and below the range without a government request were 4 (19%). Above the range were 3 (14%). The within-range share of 43% is higher than the 29% in fiscal year 2024 and the 33% for all years under this guideline. It is lower than the 51% for everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025\. A mandatory minimum applied to 3 of the 21 people (14%). ## Other Parts of the Sentence Supervised release was ordered for 20 people (95%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (5%), and restitution for 4 (19%). In criminal history, 52% were in the lowest category, category I, and 5% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## How Much Weight One Year Can Bear Only 21 people were sentenced under this guideline in fiscal year 2025, the smallest group in the yearly table. A handful of long sentences can move a median a long way. This post does not treat the 62.6-month figure as a trend. The Commission classed all 21 cases as Extortion/Racketeering. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. ## What Is Not in the Data The U.S. Sentencing Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show the facts of any case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B3.2 (21), 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 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-2-extortion-by-force-or-threat-of-injury-fy2024/) (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.