> ## 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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-forgery-counter-copyright-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:33:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:33:05.000Z - Description: 137 people were sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 137 pleaded guilty. 106 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 14.4 months, lower than the 17.6 months for this offense type in all 94 distric - 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 South Carolina, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: District of South Carolina **In brief:** 137 people were sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 137 pleaded guilty. 106 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 14.4 months, lower than the 17.6 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 23 (17%) received probation only. 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 137 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/). ## Every Person Pleaded Guilty 137 of 137 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. For this offense type in all districts, the guilty plea rate was 98%, and for all offenses in the District of South Carolina it was 98%. 72% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 28% were straight pleas with no agreement. The U.S. Sentencing Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so charges that ended in acquittal or dismissal are not in these numbers. ## Prison Terms and Probation The Commission's offense type is "Forgery/Counter/Copyright." 106 people (77%) received a prison term, the same share as the 77% in all districts. 23 (17%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 14.4 months. A quarter received 29.2 months or more, and a quarter received 2.8 months or less. The median for all offenses in the district was 48.2 months. The yearly table shows medians of 0 months in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 and 26 months in fiscal year 2025\. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 30 | 24 months | 100% | | 2017 | 18 | 8.2 months | 100% | | 2018 | 20 | 20.5 months | 100% | | 2019 | 28 | 21.9 months | 100% | | 2020 | 14 | 16 months | 100% | | 2021 | 13 | 12 months | 100% | | 2022 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 | | 2023 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 | | 2024 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 | | 2025 | 2 | 26 months | 2 of 2 | ## Counterfeit Currency and Copyright Guidelines For 114 people, the primary guideline was §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States). For 23 people, it was §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark). These cases were 2% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district. There were 96 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 41 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. ## Position Against the Guideline Range Of the 137 people with this information, 44% (60) were sentenced within the range. 23% (32) were below it at the government's request, and 33% (45) were below it without a government request. None were above the range. The within-range share was about the same as the 47% for this offense type in all districts and for all offenses in the district. ## Restitution, Release, and Mandatory Minimums Restitution was ordered for 101 people (74%), and a fine for 1 (less than 1%). 101 people (74%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 137 people with that information recorded (less than 1%). ## Criminal History and the Court-Martial Comparison 30% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 17% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB lie within this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts and are not counted here. ## Counts Fell Over the Period The yearly table shows 30 people in fiscal year 2016 and 2 in fiscal year 2025\. The records do not show why the counts changed, and they cannot show whether a change in law or enforcement played a part. The data does not describe the facts of individual cases. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (137). 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](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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (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.