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# §2B6.1 Altering or Removing Motor Vehicle Identification Numbers, or Trafficking in Motor Vehicles or Parts with Altered or Obliterated Identification Numbers: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b6-1-altering-or-removing-motor-vehicle-identification-numbers/
- Published: 2026-11-03T01:40:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:40:15.000Z
- Description: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 26 people were sentenced in federal court under §2B6.1, and 21 (81%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 18 months. 25 of the 26 pleaded guilty.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › §2B6.1

**In brief:** In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 26 people were sentenced in federal court under §2B6.1, and 21 (81%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 18 months. 25 of the 26 pleaded guilty.

Updated November 2, 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 26 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](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/).

## Sentences in Brief

Prison went to 21 of 26 people (81%), and probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 3 (12%). Among those sent to prison, the median term was 18 months. A quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.

Terms are those imposed, not time served. The median is the middle prison term when all terms are listed from shortest to longest. The gap between the 36-month and 12-month figures shows that terms varied widely.

## What the Guideline Covers

The Guidelines Manual titles §2B6.1 "Altering or Removing Motor Vehicle Identification Numbers, or Trafficking in Motor Vehicles or Parts with Altered or Obliterated Identification Numbers." The Sentencing Commission files all 26 cases under Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement.

A case is counted when §2B6.1 was the primary guideline, the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.

## Plea Agreements and the Lone Trial

Of the 26 people, 25 (96%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. The one trial conviction had a prison term of 3 months. A single case says little about trials in general.

## Below-Range Sentences Were Common

Within the guideline range were 23% (6). Below the range at the government's request were 42% (11), and below the range without a government request were 35% (9). None were above the range.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person (4%). Sentences below the range, with or without a government request, were more common than sentences within it.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

Supervised release was ordered for 20 people (77%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (4%). Restitution was ordered for 16 (62%), a more common penalty than a fine.

On criminal history, 65% were in the lowest category, category I, and 4% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Year-to-Year Changes

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 9 people with a median prison term of 24 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 17 people with a median prison term of 17 months. The later median is lower.

Each year had between 1 and 6 people. The yearly medians range from 0 months in fiscal year 2018 to 120 months in fiscal year 2019, and the 120-month figure is for a single person. The records cannot show why years differ.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 3 months      | 1 of 2         |
| 2017        | 4                | 30 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2018        | 2                | 0 months      | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 1                | 120 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 2                | 36 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 2                | 6 months      | 2 of 2         |
| 2022        | 3                | 12 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 2                | 11.3 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 2                | 35.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2025        | 6                | 23 months     | 6 of 6         |

## Limits

The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers appear. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B6.1 (26), 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](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)
- [§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-1-robbery/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§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/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-3-criminal-infringement-of-copyright-or-trademark/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2B2.1 Burglary of a Residence or a Structure Other than a Residence: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b2-1-burglary-of-a-residence-or-a-structure/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [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.