> ## 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, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:38:45.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:38:44.000Z - Description: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 539 people were sentenced under guideline §2D2.2, and 332 (62%) received probation only. Another 155 (29%) received prison, with a median term of 6 months. The sentence was within the guideline range for 82%. - 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 **In brief:** In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 539 people were sentenced under guideline §2D2.2, and 332 (62%) received probation only. Another 155 (29%) received prison, with a median term of 6 months. The sentence was within the guideline range for 82%. 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 539 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 Mostly Within the Range Guideline §2D2.2 is titled "Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge; Attempt or Conspiracy" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. For this group, 442 of 539 sentences (82%) were within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request: 34 (6%). Below the range without that request: 50 (9%). Above the range: 13 (2%). ## Probation or Prison Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 332 people (62%). A prison term went to 155 (29%). The median prison term was 6 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 1 month or less. The U.S. Sentencing Commission lists the offense type for all 539 as Other, which means the records do not place these cases in a more specific category. The median covers only the 155 people who went to prison, not the 332 who received probation only. ## Pleas and Trials Guilty pleas numbered 533 of 539 (99%), and 6 people were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas. The median prison term was 6 months after a guilty plea and 16 months after a trial. Only 5 people convicted at trial went to prison, so the trial figure comes from a very small group and says little on its own. With only 6 trial convictions in the whole group, the records cannot support a comparison between trials and pleas. ## Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 13 people (2%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 151 (28%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 141 (26%), and restitution for 90 (17%). In criminal history, 72% were in the lowest category and 3% in the highest. ## Yearly Changes In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 278 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 7 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 261 people were sentenced and the median was 5.3 months. The yearly count was 111 in 2019 and 25 in 2025\. The yearly median ranged from 1.6 months in 2024 to 12 months in 2018\. In every year, 96% or more pleaded guilty. The groups of prison cases are small, and the records do not show the reasons for the changes. | 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 the Records Do Not Contain Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served. A median of 1.6 months for 2024 describes a short term for a small number of people. The crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so this post reports federal numbers alone. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D2.2 (539), 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) - [§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-2-drug-offenses-occurring-near-protected-locations-or/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-1-unlawful-possession/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2D1.11 Unlawfully Distributing, Importing, Exporting or Possessing a Listed Chemical: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-11-unlawfully-distributing-importing-exporting-or-possessing-a/) (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.