§2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
22 people were sentenced under guideline §2E4.1 in fiscal year 2024. 11 (50%) received a prison term with a median of 6 months, and 11 (50%) received probation only. 22 of 22 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 12 sentences (55%) were below the guideline range at the government's request.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes an › §2E4.1: FY2024
In brief: 22 people were sentenced under guideline §2E4.1 in fiscal year 2024. 11 (50%) received a prison term with a median of 6 months, and 11 (50%) received probation only. 22 of 22 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 12 sentences (55%) were below the guideline range at the government's request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 22 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
The Group Sentenced in Fiscal Year 2024
The Guidelines Manual titles §2E4.1 "Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco." The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 22 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary guideline was §2E4.1. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.
The Commission places the cases in its "Extortion/Racketeering" offense type. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Prison and Probation in Equal Numbers
11 of the 22 people (50%) were sentenced to prison, and 11 (50%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The all-years prison rate under this guideline was 48%, so the 2024 rate was about the same.
The median prison term was 6 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 9.4 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. The all-years median was 12 months, so the 2024 median was lower.
11 people (50%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 22 (5%).
12 Sentences Below the Range at the Government's Request
The guideline range is the range calculated under the Manual for a case. 12 of the 22 sentences (55%) were below it at the government's request. 3 (14%) were below it without a government request. 7 (32%) were within the range, and 0 were above it.
The 32% within the range was higher than the 25% for all years under this guideline and lower than the 46% for all federal cases in fiscal year 2024.
All Guilty Pleas
22 of 22 people pleaded guilty, and 0 went to trial. 91% of the pleas had a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The data therefore has no trial sentences for this year to compare.
Restitution, Fines, and Criminal History
Restitution was ordered for 17 people (77%), and a fine for 1 (5%). Restitution is payment ordered toward a loss, and the records here give no amounts.
In criminal history, 77% were in the lowest category I, and 0% were in the highest category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Looking Across the Years
In fiscal year 2023, the previous year, 11 people were sentenced under §2E4.1, the median prison term was 31 months, and 0% were within the range.
For all federal cases in fiscal year 2024, under every guideline, the total was 61,678 people, with a median prison term of 30 months and 97% guilty pleas. For this guideline over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the total is 224 people. The table lists the count, median, and plea rate for every year, including the small group listed for 2025.
| 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 |
Limits of This Data
The records show how cases ended, not what conduct each involved. Acquittals and dismissals are absent, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
A group of 22 is small, and a single year is not a trend. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers are reported.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2E4.1 (22), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.