Our colleagues Thomas Jaworski, Elena M. Quattrone, and Maurice Wells published an Insight that will be of interest to readers involved in white collar defense: “Recalibrating Economic Crime Sentencing: The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Proposed Reforms to Section 2B1.1 and What They Mean for the Defense Bar.”
What You Need to Know:
The U.S. Sentencing Commission (the “Commission”) has proposed amendments to federal fraud sentencing guidelines and is soliciting comments from the public.
- Simplified Loss Table: The proposed amendments reduce the 16-tier loss table to eight broader tiers, aiming to simplify sentencing and reduce disputes over marginal loss amounts.
- Focus on Culpability and Harm: New guidelines emphasize non-economic victim harm (e.g., emotional trauma) and introduce mitigating factors for defendants acting under coercion or showing early remediation.
- Retroactivity and Public Input: The Commission is considering retroactive application of these changes and invites public comments by February 10, 2026, ahead of a May 1, 2026, deadline for Congressional submission.