Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
14 people were sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses in the Eastern District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2017 to 2024. All 14 pleaded guilty and all received a prison term, with a median of 19.5 months, compared with 17.6 months in all 94 federal districts.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY201 › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Eastern District of Kentucky
In brief: 14 people were sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses in the Eastern District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2017 to 2024. All 14 pleaded guilty and all received a prison term, with a median of 19.5 months, compared with 17.6 months in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 14 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.
Guilty Pleas and Prison in Every Case
The Commission's "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type had 14 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2017 to 2024. 14 of 14 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. 14 of 14 (100%) also received a prison term, and none received probation only.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 64% had a written plea agreement and 36% entered a straight plea with no agreement.
Length of the Prison Terms
The median prison term was 19.5 months. A quarter received 40.8 months or more, and a quarter received 11.2 months or less. The terms are those imposed, not time served.
In all 94 districts, the category had 1,994 people, 77% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 17.6 months. All offenses in this district had a median of 70 months.
Counterfeit Currency and Copyright Guidelines
The primary guideline was §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) for 8 people and §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark) for 6. These are different kinds of offenses that the Commission groups in one category, so the combined numbers describe a mixed group rather than a single type of case.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,374 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
The Guideline Range
10 people (71%) were sentenced within the advisory guideline range. 1 (7%) was below it at the government's request, 2 (14%) were below it without a government request, and 1 (7%) was above it.
In all districts, 47% of sentences in this category were within the range. For all offenses in this district it was 54%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 14 people (0%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
All 14 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 (29%), and restitution for 12 (86%).
57% were in the lowest criminal history category, Category I, and 14% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
9 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 5 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. 7 of the 14 were sentenced in 2017. The table lists only years with at least 1 person.
The medians run from 13.5 months to 46 months, each from a group of 1 to 7 people. The table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 7 | 15 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2019 | 2 | 13.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 3 | 46 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 40 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the data does not give the value of the goods or documents involved.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (14). 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 (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 Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, 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.