> ## 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. # §2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe-fy2024/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:24:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:24:29.000Z - Description: Under §2C1.1, "Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe," 220 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2024, and the median prison term was 16.5 months. After a guilty plea the median was 12 months, and after a trial it was 27 months. 180 people (82%) received a prison term. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe/) › §2C1.1: FY2024 **In brief:** Under §2C1.1, "Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe," 220 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2024, and the median prison term was 16.5 months. After a guilty plea the median was 12 months, and after a trial it was 27 months. 180 people (82%) received a prison term. 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 220 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024\. 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/). ## Median Prison Terms by Type of Conviction In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 220 people with §2C1.1 as the primary guideline. Of these, 192 (87%) pleaded guilty and 28 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea. After a trial, it was 27 months, based on 28 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Overall Prison Terms A prison term was given to 180 of the 220 people (82%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was given to 24 (11%). The overall median for those sent to prison was 16.5 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 6.8 months or less. This median was lower than the 22.1 months in fiscal year 2023 and the 19 months for fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together. The records do not show the reason. ## Sentences Within and Outside the Range The Commission has range information for all 220 people. A sentence within the guideline range was given to 48 (22%). A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 83 (38%), and one below the range without a government request to 85 (39%). A sentence above the range was given to 4 (2%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 220 people with that information recorded (1%). ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution Supervised release after prison was ordered for 177 people (80%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 66 people (30%), and restitution for 65 (30%). In criminal history, 90% were in the lowest category (category I) and 1% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Neighboring Years and All Guidelines Fiscal year 2023 had 226 people, a median prison term of 22.1 months, and 20% within the range. Fiscal year 2025 had 203 people, a median of 15.5 months, and 20% within the range. The table lists all years. From 2016 to 2025, 2,058 people were sentenced under this guideline. Of those, 79% went to prison and 91% pleaded guilty. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2024, the count was 61,678 people. Their median prison term was 30 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 46% were sentenced within the range. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 260 | 24 months | 89% | | 2017 | 205 | 21 months | 92% | | 2018 | 204 | 18.9 months | 93% | | 2019 | 245 | 21 months | 90% | | 2020 | 139 | 14 months | 88% | | 2021 | 143 | 24 months | 91% | | 2022 | 213 | 22 months | 93% | | 2023 | 226 | 22.1 months | 91% | | 2024 | 220 | 16.5 months | 87% | | 2025 | 203 | 15.5 months | 91% | ## What Cannot Be Learned Here The files cover only convicted and sentenced people, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024\. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the numbers stand alone. The Commission classifies these cases as Bribery/Corruption. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2C1.1 (220), 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) - [§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe/) (overview) - [§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe-fy2025/) (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.