§2B3.2 Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 344 people were sentenced in federal court with §2B3.2 as the primary guideline. A prison term went to 325 (94%), and the median was 37 months (3.1 years). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 17 people (5%).
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 344 people were sentenced in federal court with §2B3.2 as the primary guideline. A prison term went to 325 (94%), and the median was 37 months (3.1 years). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 17 people (5%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 344 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 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 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.
Reading the Numbers Section by Section
This post covers one guideline, §2B3.2, titled "Extortion by Force or Threat of Injury or Serious Damage" in the Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The Sentencing Commission groups its cases under Extortion/Racketeering.
Each of the 344 people is counted under the guideline that set the offense level for the most serious count. Only convicted and sentenced people are in the data.
Prison Terms
Among the 325 people sent to prison, a quarter received 63 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. Probation only went to 15 people (4%). The terms are those the court imposed, not time served.
The spread between 24 and 63 months is wide, and the median of 37 months sits between them. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 17 of the 344 people (5%), which is a larger group than the 15 who received probation only.
Trials and Pleas
A total of 316 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 28 were convicted after a trial. Of those who pleaded guilty, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% did not.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 37 months. After a trial it was 60.5 months, based on 28 people. The records show that the numbers differ but not what the cases involved.
Below, Within, and Above the Range
Sentences below the guideline range without a government request were given to 126 people (37%). Within the range were 115 people (33%). Below the range at the government's request were 87 (25%), and above the range were 16 (5%).
In criminal history, 52% were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 9% were in the highest, VI.
After Prison and Money Orders
Supervised release was ordered for 307 people (89%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 28 people (8%), and restitution for 118 (34%).
Changes Over Time
The first period, fiscal years 2016 to 2019, had 190 people and a median prison term of 37 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 154 people and a median of 41 months.
The yearly table shows the number sentenced dropping from 63 in 2016 to 21 in 2025. Medians ranged from 30 months in 2021 and 2024 to 62.6 months in 2025, with 57 months in 2022. Only 21 to 31 people were sentenced in most recent years, so one year's median should be read with care. The records do not give reasons for the changes.
| 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 This Does Not Show
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are given. The data has no acquittals and no dismissed cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B3.2 (344), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2B4.1 Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2B2.1 Burglary of a Residence or a Structure Other than a Residence: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.