Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025
The Sentencing Commission lists 32 people sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in the Eastern District of California, all in fiscal years 2016 to 2020. The median prison term was 27 months, compared with 17.6 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. A total of 78% r
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2 › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Eastern District of California
In brief: The Sentencing Commission lists 32 people sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in the Eastern District of California, all in fiscal years 2016 to 2020. The median prison term was 27 months, compared with 17.6 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. A total of 78% received a prison term.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 32 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.
Cases Appear Only Through Fiscal Year 2020
The offense type "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" is a category used by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In this district, the records show 32 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2020. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 31 people, and fiscal year 2020 has 1 person.
The table has no rows after 2020, and the records do not say why. These cases were less than 1% of the 4,546 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 11 | 32 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 12 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 4 | 30 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2019 | 4 | 15 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 1 | 12.9 months | 1 of 1 |
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
A total of 25 of the 32 people (78%) received a prison term, and 4 (13%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 77% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 27 months (2.2 years). A quarter received 18 months or less, and a quarter received 37 months or more. The median in all districts together was 17.6 months, and the median for all offenses in this district was 48 months. These are terms imposed at sentencing, not the time actually served.
Within the Guideline Range or Below It
The guideline range is the range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. For all 32 people, 44% (14) were sentenced within the range. In all districts, 47% were within the range, and in this district, all offenses together had 40%.
A below-range sentence at the government's request applied to 31% (10), and a below-range sentence without a government request applied to 25% (8). No one was above the range.
Which Guidelines Applied?
The most common primary guideline was §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark), with 19 cases. The next was §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States), with 13 cases.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 32 people (3%).
Pleas and Plea Agreements
A total of 31 of 32 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. In all districts, 98% pleaded guilty.
Among the guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement, and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 27 months. The single trial conviction had a prison term of 33 months, and one case cannot show how trials compare with pleas.
Supervision, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 18 (56%), with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered for anyone, and restitution was ordered for 16 (50%).
In this group, 41% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 9% were in the highest. The court-martial data has no criminal history field.
Installations and Limits of the Data
The district contains Beale AFB, Edwards AFB, and Travis AFB. Military courts, not this federal court, try courts-martial. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these federal numbers are reported on their own.
People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are missing from this data, because the Commission counts convictions that reached sentencing.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (32). 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 Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern 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.