Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Texas, 51 people were sentenced under the Commission's "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type, and 48 (94%) received a prison term. The median was 25.5 months (2.1 years), compared with 17.6 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. The offense-type figur
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2 › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Eastern District of Texas
In brief: In the Eastern District of Texas, 51 people were sentenced under the Commission's "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type, and 48 (94%) received a prison term. The median was 25.5 months (2.1 years), compared with 17.6 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. The offense-type figures cover fiscal years 2016 to 2024.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 51 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.
Longer Median Prison Term Than the National Figure
Among the 48 people sent to prison, the median was 25.5 months. A quarter received 41 months or more, and a quarter received 17.3 months or less.
The median for all 94 districts was 17.6 months, which is lower than the median here. For all offenses in this district, the median was 64.5 months, which is higher.
Probation only went to 3 people (6%). Nationwide, 77% of people sentenced for this offense type went to prison. The Commission reports the terms the court imposed, which are not the same as time served.
Counterfeit Currency and Copyright Cases
The primary guideline was §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) for 39 people. It was §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark) for 12 people.
Together these cases were less than 1% of the 7,998 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" is the Commission's own category and is not a statute.
Within the Guideline Range for Most
The sentence was within the range for 63% of the people (32). Below the range at the government's request were 31% (16), and below the range without a government request were 4% (2). Above the range was 2% (1).
Nationwide, 47% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 64%. Within-range sentences were more common here than nationwide for this offense type, though the group is small.
Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions
A total of 49 of 51 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. After a trial it was 78.5 months, based on only 2 people. That is too small a group to support a comparison.
A mandatory minimum applied to 2 of the 51 people (4%).
Restitution and Other Orders
Restitution was ordered for 22 people (43%), and a fine for 2 (4%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 48 people (94%), with a median term of 36 months.
In criminal history, 37% were in the lowest category and 24% were in the highest. Courts-martial have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 28 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 23. A fiscal year begins October 1 and ends the next September.
Fiscal year 2016 had 16 people, the most in the table. Fiscal year 2023 had 7 people and a median of 60 months. The table skips years with no people, and these small counts do not establish a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 16 | 18 months | 88% |
| 2017 | 4 | 17 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 4 | 19.6 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 4 | 10.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 8 | 30 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2022 | 3 | 33 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 7 | 60 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 5 | 40 months | 5 of 5 |
Limits of the Records
The records cover only people who were sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and no details of any individual case are given.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (51). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, 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.