> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-forgery-counter-copyright-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:02:51.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:02:51.000Z - Description: Counterfeit currency dominated the forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright cases in the Northern District of Alabama. §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) was the primary guideline for 14 of the 15 people sentenced in fiscal years 2018 to 2025. Of the 15, 11 - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-alabama/) › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Northern District of Alabama **In brief:** Counterfeit currency dominated the forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright cases in the Northern District of Alabama. §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) was the primary guideline for 14 of the 15 people sentenced in fiscal years 2018 to 2025\. Of the 15, 11 (73%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## What the Category Contains Here The Commission's offense type "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" groups cases by primary guideline. In this district, 14 people were sentenced under §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States). The remaining person was sentenced under §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark). These 15 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2018 to 2025, and they were less than 1% of the 4,557 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The records do not describe the facts of any case. ## Prison Terms and Probation Of the 15 people, 11 (73%) received a prison term, and 1 (7%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 14.5 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less. Across all 94 federal districts, 77% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 17.6 months. The share sent to prison here was about the same, and the median prison term was lower. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 46 months. ## Sentences Against the Guideline Range Of the 15 people, 8 (53%) were sentenced within the guideline range. The other 7 (47%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. No one was sentenced below the range without a government request, and no one was sentenced above it. Across all districts, 47% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. The share within the range here was higher. For all offenses in this district, it was 56%. ## Pleas and Plea Agreements All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. All guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. Across all districts, 98% pleaded guilty. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 15 people. ## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History Supervised release after prison was ordered for 11 people (73%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 11 people (73%). No fine was ordered for any of the 15. In criminal history, 27% were in the lowest category and 20% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Counts by Year and Limits of the Records Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 10\. The table lists each fiscal year with cases, and each has 2 or 3 people. Fiscal years run from October through September. The medians in the table are 12 months, 7 months, and 0 months, based on groups this small. They do not show a trend. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2018 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 | | 2019 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 | | 2020 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 | | 2021 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 | | 2022 | 3 | 7 months | 3 of 3 | | 2025 | 2 | 0 months | 2 of 2 | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (15). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-alabama/) (overview) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.