Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025
Restitution was ordered for 33 of the 37 people (89%) sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in the Eastern District of Virginia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 37, 33 (89%) also received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. The median for this offense type in all d
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY201 › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Eastern District of Virginia
In brief: Restitution was ordered for 33 of the 37 people (89%) sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in the Eastern District of Virginia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 37, 33 (89%) also received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. The median for this offense type in all districts was 17.6 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 37 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.
Restitution and Fines
Restitution is money ordered to be paid back to victims. It was ordered for 33 of the 37 people (89%), which is a high share. A fine was ordered for only 2 people (5%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 32 people (86%), and the median term was 36 months.
Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 33 people (89%) with a prison term. One person (3%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less.
For all 94 districts together, 1,994 people were sentenced for this offense type. Of those, 77% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 17.6 months. In this district, the median was lower. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 46 months.
Almost Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
Guilty pleas accounted for 36 of 37 cases (97%), and 1 person was convicted after a trial. All districts together had 98% guilty pleas, and the district's all-offense figure was 96%.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 12 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 1 person, so it cannot be compared with the plea figure.
Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 37 people.
Position Against the Guideline Range
For all 37 people, 59% (22) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 27% (10) were below the range without a government request, and 11% (4) were below it at the government's request. One person (3%) was above the range.
Within-range sentences were more common here than the 47% for this offense type in all districts. They were about the same as the 60% for all offenses in this district.
Main Guidelines in These Cases
"Forgery/Counter/Copyright" is the Commission's own offense category. The sheet lists 2 guidelines. The first is §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States), with 26 people. The second is §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark), with 11.
On criminal history, 49% of the people were in the lowest category and 8% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 24 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 13 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. The table has no row for 2024, and several years have only 1 person.
With counts this small, each yearly median describes a handful of people. The table does not show a trend. These cases were less than 1% of the 10,381 people sentenced in the district.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 12 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2017 | 10 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 1 | 14 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 6 | 7.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 4 | 7 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 4 | 24 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 3 | 16 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 1 | 14 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 |
What Is Not in the Records
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and the data does not describe the facts behind any sentence.
Fort Lee, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Marine Corps Base Quantico, and Norfolk are 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 Eastern District of Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Virginia East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (37). 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 Virginia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Virginia, 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.