> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-forgery-counter-copyright-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:32:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:32:24.000Z
- Description: 21 people were sentenced in the District of New Jersey for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. 13 (62%) received a prison term, and the median was 18 months, close to the 17.6 months for all 94 districts.
- 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 New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-jersey/) › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: District of New Jersey

**In brief:** 21 people were sentenced in the District of New Jersey for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025\. 13 (62%) received a prison term, and the median was 18 months, close to the 17.6 months for all 94 districts.

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 21 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/).

## Median Prison Term Close to the National Figure

The U.S. Sentencing Commission category "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" covers counterfeit goods, counterfeit currency, and copyright and trademark infringement. In the District of New Jersey, 21 people were sentenced in this category. That is less than 1% of the 6,441 people sentenced in the district.

Among the 13 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 11.9 months or less. The all-districts median was 17.6 months, which is about the same. The median for all offenses in the district was 37 months, which is higher.

## Prison Versus Probation

13 of the 21 (62%) received a prison term, and 5 (24%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 77% of the 1,994 people in this category were sent to prison. The share sent to prison here is lower.

## Plea Agreements

All 21 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none went to trial. Among the guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement. Guilty pleas were 98% for all districts in this category and 97% for all offenses in the district.

## How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. Only 3 sentences (14%) were within the range. 13 (62%) were below the range at the government's request, and 5 (24%) were below the range without a government request. None was above.

The within-range share was 47% for all districts and 37% for all offenses in the district. Both are higher than the share here. No one had a mandatory minimum prison term recorded.

## Guidelines Used

The primary guidelines listed below account for all 21 people. §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark) applied to 18\. §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) applied to 3.

In criminal history terms, 90% were in criminal history category I and 0% were in category VI.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

13 people (62%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 6 (29%), and restitution was ordered for 6 (29%).

## Yearly Counts

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 12 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 9\. The table shows years with sentences, each with 1 to 5 people. Medians from groups this small can change a great deal from one year to the next and should not be read as trends.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 4                | 37 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2018        | 3                | 31.5 months   | 3 of 3         |
| 2019        | 5                | 20 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2020        | 4                | 6.5 months    | 4 of 4         |
| 2021        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 3                | 11.9 months   | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 1                | 11.9 months   | 1 of 1         |

## Limits of the Data

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Jersey (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Jersey") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (21). 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 New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-jersey/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (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.