US sentencing panel proposes sentencing changes for fentanyl, fraud cases

By Nate Raymond

Dec 12 (Reuters) - A U.S. panel tasked with crafting federal sentencing policy on Friday proposed tougher penalties for crimes involving the addictive opioid fentanyl and changes to how white collar defendants are sentenced for fraud.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission during a hearing in Washington, D.C., voted to put out for public comment a series of proposed amendments to the advisory guidelines judges consult when sentencing federal defendants.

Public comment is due by Feb. 10. The commission plans to hold a hearing in early 2026 on the proposals, which it must decide to finalize before the current amendment cycle ends on May 1.

The panel proposed amending the sentencing guidelines for the third time since 2023 to address the rising number of cases involving fentanyl, which now represents the second-most common drug type in federal drug trafficking cases.

The commission's proposed changes, if adopted would enhance penalties for fentanyl trafficking involving sales to minors, offenses that relied on the "dark web," a hidden, encrypted layer of the internet; and drug trafficking offenses involving fentanyl laced with xylazine, a powerful sedative that authorities say puts users at a higher risk of drug poisoning.

The U.S. Department of Justice had in a July letter urged the panel to take further steps to "help combat the grave public-safety threat posed by fentanyl and synthetic opioids," saying the current guidelines do not adequately account for the "unique dangers" they pose.

The panel also proposed reforming the guidelines used by judges to sentence defendants for economic crimes including fraud and theft, after years of criticism by defense lawyers, academics and some judges who have long argued for an overhaul. They have claimed that the guidelines result in excessive punishments by prioritizing financial losses such as from falling stock prices over other factors, like a defendant's culpability.

In 2015, the panel addressed those critiques and revised the fraud guidelines, but it retained the practice of increasing sentences based on victim losses.

The proposals announced Friday would either restructure the monetary table that determines the severity of punishment based on the amount of losses involved, or adjust it for inflation.

The commission on Friday proposed simplifying the victim loss table used to categorize levels of offense from 16 categories to six, resulting in sentences that generally would be lower than the guidelines currently produced. Adjusting for inflation would similarly generate lower advisory sentencing ranges for white collar defendants.

To address criticisms that the fraud guidelines do not appropriately reflect a fraud defendant's culpability or the non-economic harm victims face, the commission proposed new mitigating factors while enhancing sentences to reflect a victim's physical and psychological harm and trauma.