> ## 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. # §2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e4-1-unlawful-conduct-relating-to-contraband-cigarettes-and-fy2021/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:30:55.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:30:55.000Z - Description: 3 of the 21 people sentenced under guideline §2E4.1 in fiscal year 2021 (14%) were sent to prison, and their median prison term was 24 months (2 years). 14 people (67%) received probation only. A mandatory minimum applied to 1 person (5%). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes an](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e4-1-unlawful-conduct-relating-to-contraband-cigarettes-and/) › §2E4.1: FY2021 **In brief:** 3 of the 21 people sentenced under guideline §2E4.1 in fiscal year 2021 (14%) were sent to prison, and their median prison term was 24 months (2 years). 14 people (67%) received probation only. A mandatory minimum applied to 1 person (5%). 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 21 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021\. 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/). ## 3 Prison Sentences, With a Higher Median Only 3 of the 21 people (14%) received a prison term in fiscal year 2021\. The median among them was 24 months, which is 2 years. A quarter of those sent to prison received 40.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The all-years median under this guideline, for fiscal years 2016 to 2025, was 12 months. The 2021 median was higher, but it rests on 3 people, so a single case could move it a great deal. The prison rate for all years was 48%. The 2021 rate was lower. ## Probation and Supervised Release 14 people (67%) were sentenced to probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 4 people (19%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term, one set by statute, applied to 1 of the 21 people (5%). The records here do not show which charge carried it. ## Restitution in Nearly Every Case A court orders restitution to require payment toward a loss. In this group, restitution was ordered for 20 of the 21 people (95%). Fines were ordered for 2 people (10%). The data does not give dollar amounts, so these shares show how often an order was made and nothing about its size. ## Few Sentences Within the Guideline Range The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Guidelines Manual. 4 of the 21 sentences (19%) were inside it. 10 (48%) were below the range at the government's request, and 7 (33%) were below it without such a request. None were above it. Across all years under this guideline, 25% were within the range. For all federal sentences in fiscal year 2021, the figure was 43%. ## Pleas and Plea Agreements All 21 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and no one was convicted after a trial. Written plea agreements covered 81% of the pleas, and 19% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Other Years, Federal Totals, and the Offense Type The Manual titles §2E4.1 "Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco," and the Commission files these cases under "Extortion/Racketeering." The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. In fiscal year 2020, 28 people were sentenced under this guideline, with a median prison term of 6 months and 7% within the range. In fiscal year 2022, 12 people were sentenced, with a median of 0.3 months and 8% within the range. Federal court overall sentenced 57,287 people that year, with a median prison term of 29 months and 98% guilty pleas. For §2E4.1 across all years, the count is 224 people. The table lists the years. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 28 | 8 months | 96% | | 2017 | 29 | 12 months | 100% | | 2018 | 45 | 13.5 months | 100% | | 2019 | 25 | 2 months | 100% | | 2020 | 28 | 6 months | 100% | | 2021 | 21 | 24 months | 100% | | 2022 | 12 | 0.3 months | 92% | | 2023 | 11 | 31 months | 100% | | 2024 | 22 | 6 months | 100% | | 2025 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 | ## Where the Data Stops Criminal history is the one other field recorded: 90% were in category I, the lowest, and 0% in category VI, the highest. Military records have no such field. The data omits acquittals and dismissals, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served. Small counts like these should not be treated as a trend. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so this post reports federal numbers alone. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2E4.1 (21), 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) - [§2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e4-1-unlawful-conduct-relating-to-contraband-cigarettes-and/) (overview) - [§2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e4-1-unlawful-conduct-relating-to-contraband-cigarettes-and-fy2020/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e4-1-unlawful-conduct-relating-to-contraband-cigarettes-and-fy2022/) (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.