Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
Of the 14 people sentenced in the "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" category in the Middle District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 13 had counterfeit U.S. bearer obligations as the primary guideline. 10 of the 14 (71%) received a prison term, with a median of 19 months. All 14 pleaded guilty.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016– › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Middle District of Georgia
In brief: Of the 14 people sentenced in the "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" category in the Middle District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 13 had counterfeit U.S. bearer obligations as the primary guideline. 10 of the 14 (71%) received a prison term, with a median of 19 months. All 14 pleaded guilty.
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.
Mostly Counterfeit Obligations Cases
The Commission's category groups forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright crimes. In this district, §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) was the primary guideline for 13 people. §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark) was the primary guideline for 1.
The category was less than 1% of the 4,094 people sentenced in the district over the period.
Prison Terms and Probation
10 of the 14 people (71%) received a prison term, and 4 (29%) received probation only. Probation only means no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 19 months. A quarter received 23.2 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less. Those are imposed terms, not time served. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 14 people.
Compared With the Nation and the District
Across all 94 districts, 1,994 people were sentenced in this offense type. 77% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 17.6 months. Guilty pleas were 98%.
In this district, the share sent to prison was lower than the national share, and the median term was a little higher. The district's median for all offenses was 51 months, which is higher than the 19 months here.
No Trials in This Group
14 of 14 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 86% had a written plea agreement and 14% were straight pleas with no agreement. Because there were no trials, the records cannot compare plea and trial sentences for this category.
The Guideline Range
50% of the sentences (7) were within the guideline range. 29% (4) were below the range at the government's request, and 14% (2) were below the range without a government request. 7% (1) was above the range.
Nationally, 47% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. The within-range share here was about the same, at 50%. For all offenses in the district, it was 66%.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
10 people (71%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 6 (43%), and a fine for 1 (7%).
21% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 21% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 8 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 6 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1. The table has no rows for fiscal years 2021 and 2023, and no year had more than 3 people. Yearly medians range from 12 months to 36 months, and one year has none. Counts this small cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 20 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 2 | 17 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 3 | 14 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 36 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
What Cannot Be Read From These Numbers
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in the Commission's data. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed do not, and no case facts are given. Fort Benning, Moody AFB, and Robins AFB are in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia Mid") 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 Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, 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.