Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025
The Central District of California sentenced 78 people for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 61 (78%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. The median for the same offense type in all 94 federal districts was 17.6 months.
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In brief: The Central District of California sentenced 78 people for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 61 (78%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. The median for the same offense type in all 94 federal districts was 17.6 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 78 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 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.
Prison Terms for Counterfeiting and Copyright Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type is "Forgery/Counter/Copyright." In this district, 61 of 78 people (78%) were sentenced to prison, and 11 (14%) received probation only.
The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 22 months or more, and a quarter received 4.7 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served.
In all districts, 77% of 1,994 people received prison. The district's median is lower than the 17.6 months for all districts and also lower than the 37 months for all offenses in this district.
Counterfeit Currency and Copyright Guidelines
The most common primary guideline was §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States), with 61 people. Next was §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark), with 17.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 78 people with that information recorded (5%). These cases were less than 1% of the 9,958 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and the Single Trial
Guilty pleas were entered by 77 of 78 people (99%), and 1 person was convicted after a trial. For all districts, the plea share was 98%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After the trial it was 21 months, but that figure is based on 1 person and cannot be compared with the plea figure.
Of the guilty pleas, 87% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
Of the 78 people with the information, 27 (35%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request were 19 (24%), and below it without a government request were 32 (41%). None were above the range.
In all districts, 47% of these cases were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 29% were within the range. The share within the range here was therefore lower than the national figure for this offense type and higher than the district's overall figure.
Supervised Release, Money Orders, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 60 people (77%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 7 (9%), and restitution for 29 (37%).
On criminal history, 37% of the people were in category I, the lowest, and 32% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Cases by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 60 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 18 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Most of these cases are therefore from the earlier years. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September.
The yearly counts in the later years are very small, from 1 to 6 people. Medians based on so few people vary widely, from 2 months to 48 months, and should not be treated as trends.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 11 | 22 months | 91% |
| 2017 | 17 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 14 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 18 | 15 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 6 | 8.8 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 4 | 18 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 3 | 48 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 4 months | 2 of 2 |
Limits of the Records
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the amount of counterfeit currency or the size of any copyright infringement is not described.
Fort Irwin, Twentynine Palms, and Vandenberg SFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California Central") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (78). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.