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# Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the District of Nevada, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-forgery-counter-copyright-sentences-district-of-nevada/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:08:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:08:52.000Z
- Description: 15 people were sentenced in the District of Nevada for the Commission's "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. 6 (40%) received a prison term and 6 (40%) received probation only. Across all 94 districts, 77% of people in this category were sent to prison.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Nevada, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-nevada/) › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: District of Nevada

**In brief:** 15 people were sentenced in the District of Nevada for the Commission's "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type in fiscal years 2017 to 2025\. 6 (40%) received a prison term and 6 (40%) received probation only. Across all 94 districts, 77% of people in this category were sent to prison.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Prison Was Less Common Than in All Districts

6 of the 15 people (40%) received a prison term, and 6 (40%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all districts, 77% of people in this category were sent to prison, which is higher than the Nevada figure.

Among those sent to prison in Nevada, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 15.8 months or less. The median for this category in all districts was 17.6 months, and for all offenses in the District of Nevada it was 33 months.

## The Main Guidelines

The Commission assigns the offense type by the primary guideline. The most common here were §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark), with 8 people, and §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States), with 7.

These cases were less than 1% of the 3,640 people sentenced in the District of Nevada in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Pleas and Trials

11 of the 15 people (73%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Guilty pleas were 98% for this category in all districts and 96% for all offenses in this district.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 9 months, based on only 2 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. That comparison is too small to support a general conclusion. Among guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas.

## Below the Guideline Range More Often Than Within It

Within the range: 13% (2 people). Below the range at the government's request: 40% (6). Below the range without a government request: 47% (7). Above the range: 0% (0).

Sentences within the range were 47% for this category in all districts and 33% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 15 people.

## Restitution, Supervision, and Criminal History

Restitution was ordered for 13 people (87%), and a fine for 0\. 6 people (40%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.

By criminal history category, 53% were in the lowest category I and 7% in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Fiscal Year Counts

6 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 9 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Federal fiscal years begin on October 1 and end in September of the next calendar year. The yearly table starts in 2017 and has no rows for 2021 and 2022.

The most recent row shows 4 people in 2025, with 0 of 4 pleading guilty and a median of 9 months. Yearly counts are from 1 to 4 people, so they do not show a trend, and several medians show n/a.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 3                | 18 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2018        | 2                | n/a           | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 1                | 33 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 3                | n/a           | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 4                | 9 months      | 0 of 4         |

## Limits of the Records

The Commission data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.

The site's court-martial data includes Creech AFB and Nellis AFB, both located in the district. A court-martial is a military proceeding and is not part of these federal figures.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Nevada (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Nevada") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (15). 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.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Nevada, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-nevada/) (overview)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Nevada, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-nevada/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Nevada, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-nevada/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Nevada, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-nevada/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Nevada, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-nevada/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.