To craft an effective sentence-mitigation strategy, start by developing a basic understanding of the federal sentencing guidelines. The judge will use the guidelines as a starting point.
Federal Sentencing Guidelines Table
The vertical column on the table below aligns with the government’s version of the offense severity. The horizontal row defines the number of prior convictions a person has. See where the column and row intersects to get the sentencing range in months.

Loss amounts that may increase levels on the vertical scale:
- $5,000 or less—there is no increase in level
- Greater than $5,000—increase by 2
- Greater than $10,000—increase by 4
- Greater than $30,000—increase by 6
- Greater than $70,000—increase by 8
- Greater than $120,000—increase by 10
- Greater than $200,000—increase by 12
- Greater than $400,000—increase by 14
- Greater than $1,000,000—increase by 16
- Greater than 2,500,000—increase by 18
- Greater than 7,000,000—increase by 20
- Greater than 20,000,000—increase by 22
- Greater than $50,000,000—increase by 24
- Greater than $100,000,000—increase by 26
Time Calculator:
Use the link below to get a little more insight, or to project what you may be able to expect going forward. These estimates will take into account a person’s participation in various programs. The calculator estimates a projection to consider. Caveat: It’s a best estimate without knowing many details.
https://compliancemitigation.com/calculator/