> ## 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. # §2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud-fy2020/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:28:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:28:05.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2020, 63 people were sentenced under §2D2.2, "Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge; Attempt or Conspiracy." Of the 63, 22 (35%) received a prison term, but the median was only 3 months, and a quarter of those terms were 0.3 months or less. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, D](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud/) › §2D2.2: FY2020 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2020, 63 people were sentenced under §2D2.2, "Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge; Attempt or Conspiracy." Of the 63, 22 (35%) received a prison term, but the median was only 3 months, and a quarter of those terms were 0.3 months or less. 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 63 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020\. 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/). ## Many Short Prison Terms The median prison term in fiscal year 2020 was 3 months, based on the 22 people sent to prison. A quarter received 0.3 months or less. A quarter received 11.8 months or more. Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, the median was 6 months. The 3-month median in 2020 was lower. The terms are those imposed, not time served. ## Share Sent to Prison Of the 63 people, 22 (35%) received a prison term, and 33 (52%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The 35% was higher than the 29% for all years combined. After prison, 22 people (35%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 15 people (24%), and restitution for 13 (21%). ## Guilty Pleas and the Single Trial A total of 62 of the 63 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 3 months. The trial figure was 12 months, based on 1 person, so it cannot be compared with the plea median. All of the guilty pleas (100%) had a written plea agreement, and 0% were straight pleas. ## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums The guideline range is the range the Guidelines Manual calculates for a case. In fiscal year 2020, 86% of sentences (54 people) were within it. Below the range without a government request were 6% (4), below it at the government's request were 5% (3), and above the range were 3% (2). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 63 people with that information recorded (3%). Across all federal guidelines in fiscal year 2020, 50% of sentences were within the range. ## Other Years and the Federal System Fiscal year 2019 had 111 people under §2D2.2 and a median of 6 months. Fiscal year 2021 had 48 people and a median of 7 months. The table lists each year. For every guideline in fiscal year 2020, 64,565 people were sentenced. Their median prison term was 18 months, and 98% pleaded guilty. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, §2D2.2 covered 539 people, 99% of whom pleaded guilty. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 53 | 6 months | 100% | | 2017 | 56 | 7 months | 100% | | 2018 | 58 | 12 months | 98% | | 2019 | 111 | 6 months | 98% | | 2020 | 63 | 3 months | 98% | | 2021 | 48 | 7 months | 98% | | 2022 | 51 | 6 months | 100% | | 2023 | 40 | 6 months | 100% | | 2024 | 34 | 1.6 months | 100% | | 2025 | 25 | 3 months | 96% | ## What Cannot Be Learned Here The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. In this year, 71% of these people were in criminal history category I, and 2% were in category VI. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. The records cannot show why some terms were very short. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D2.2 (63), 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) - [§2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud/) (overview) - [§2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud-fy2021/) (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.