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# §2B4.1 Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b4-1-bribery-in-procurement-of-bank-loan-and-fy2017/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:26:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:26:12.000Z
- Description: The median prison term under §2B4.1 was 12 months in fiscal year 2017, lower than the 24 months in fiscal year 2016. 75 of the 107 people sentenced (70%) went to prison, and 82 (77%) were ordered to pay restitution.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2B4.1 Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commerc](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b4-1-bribery-in-procurement-of-bank-loan-and/) › §2B4.1: FY2017

**In brief:** The median prison term under §2B4.1 was 12 months in fiscal year 2017, lower than the 24 months in fiscal year 2016\. 75 of the 107 people sentenced (70%) went to prison, and 82 (77%) were ordered to pay restitution.

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 107 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/).

## A Lower Median Than in Fiscal Year 2016

In fiscal year 2017, the U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 107 people sentenced with §2B4.1 as the primary guideline. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 12 months.

In fiscal year 2016, the median under this guideline was 24 months, and in fiscal year 2018 it was 21 months. The 2017 median was also lower than the median of 24 months for everyone sentenced in federal court in 2017 under every guideline.

A quarter of those sent to prison in 2017 received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 5.5 months or less. The records do not show why the median differs from year to year.

## Probation and Prison

75 of the 107 people (70%) received a prison term. 19 (18%) received probation only, which means no prison and no other confinement.

71 people (66%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 107 people (less than 1%).

## Restitution and Fines

Restitution was ordered for 82 people (77%). A fine was ordered for 11 (10%). Restitution is payment to repay a loss, and it is more often part of a sentence under this guideline than a fine.

The guideline is titled "Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery." The Commission places the cases in its Bribery/Corruption offense type.

## Few Trials

102 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 12 months. After a trial it was 32.5 months, based on 4 people sent to prison.

97% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement. In all federal cases in 2017, 97% pleaded guilty.

## The Guideline Range

26 people (24%) were sentenced within the range. 45 people (42%) were below the range at the government's request, and 33 people (31%) were below it without a government request. 3 people (3%) were above it.

Across all federal cases in 2017, there were 66,873 people, and 49% were within the range. Within-range sentences were less common under §2B4.1\. The shares were 41% in 2016 and 21% in 2018 for this guideline.

## All Years, Criminal History, and Limits

Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, §2B4.1 covered 983 people. 69% went to prison, the median prison term was 16.5 months, 93% pleaded guilty, and 20% were within the range. The table lists each year. A year with 107 people is small and does not show a trend.

90% of the 2017 group was in the lowest criminal history category (category I), and 0% was in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017.

Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so the numbers stand alone as federal figures.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 83               | 24 months     | 93%            |
| 2017        | 107              | 12 months     | 95%            |
| 2018        | 91               | 21 months     | 91%            |
| 2019        | 78               | 18 months     | 88%            |
| 2020        | 78               | 14.5 months   | 95%            |
| 2021        | 86               | 12 months     | 92%            |
| 2022        | 119              | 15 months     | 98%            |
| 2023        | 112              | 20 months     | 91%            |
| 2024        | 127              | 18 months     | 94%            |
| 2025        | 102              | 15 months     | 89%            |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B4.1 (107), 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)
- [§2B4.1 Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b4-1-bribery-in-procurement-of-bank-loan-and/) (overview)
- [§2B4.1 Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b4-1-bribery-in-procurement-of-bank-loan-and-fy2016/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2B4.1 Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b4-1-bribery-in-procurement-of-bank-loan-and-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.