> ## 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 2022 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud-fy2022/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:28:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:28:07.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2022, 51 people were sentenced under §2D2.2, "Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge; Attempt or Conspiracy." A fine was ordered for 22 of them (43%). Prison went to 14 (27%), with a median of 6 months. - 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: FY2022 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2022, 51 people were sentenced under §2D2.2, "Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge; Attempt or Conspiracy." A fine was ordered for 22 of them (43%). Prison went to 14 (27%), with a median of 6 months. 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 51 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022\. 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/). ## Fines and Restitution Were Common Additions to the Sentence A fine was ordered for 22 of the 51 people (43%) in fiscal year 2022\. Restitution was ordered for 10 (20%). Fines were ordered for more people than restitution was, and the Commission's data used here does not say how large any fine was. The records used here also do not show whether a fine was ordered together with probation or together with a prison term. ## Prison Terms and Probation Of the 51 people, 14 (27%) received a prison term, and 35 (69%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 6 months. A quarter received 8.8 months or more, and a quarter received 0.1 months or less. The same 6-month median applies to all years from 2016 to 2025 under this guideline. After prison, 13 people (25%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 12 months. ## All 51 People Pleaded Guilty All 51 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 88% had a written plea agreement and 12% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 51 people with that information recorded (2%). ## Sentences Relative to the Guideline Range The guideline range is the range the Guidelines Manual calculates for a case. A total of 80% of sentences (41 people) were within it. Below the range at the government's request were 10% (5), and below it without a government request were 10% (5). None were above the range (0%). For all federal cases in fiscal year 2022, 42% of sentences were within the range. ## Neighboring Years and the Full Federal Picture Fiscal year 2021 had 48 people under §2D2.2, a median prison term of 7 months, and 79% within the range. Fiscal year 2023 had 40 people, a median of 6 months, and 83% within the range. Across every guideline in fiscal year 2022, 64,142 people were sentenced, the median prison term was 30 months, and 97% pleaded guilty. Under §2D2.2 across all years, 539 people were sentenced and 29% went to prison. The table lists each year. | 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% | ## Limits of the Data Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so a case that ended in a dismissal or an acquittal does not appear in these numbers. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. In this year, 76% of these people were in criminal history category I, and 4% were in category VI. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the federal numbers stand alone. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D2.2 (51), 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 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud-fy2021/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud-fy2023/) (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.