> ## 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 Florida, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-forgery-counter-copyright-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:14:22.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:14:22.000Z - Description: All 16 people sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses in the Northern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2024 pleaded guilty. 13 (81%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months. Across all 94 federal districts the median was 17.6 months. - 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 Florida, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-florida/) › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Northern District of Florida **In brief:** All 16 people sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses in the Northern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2024 pleaded guilty. 13 (81%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months. Across all 94 federal districts the median was 17.6 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 16 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/). ## All 16 Cases Were Guilty Pleas The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 16 people in the "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type for this district. 16 of 16 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement. The national guilty plea rate for this offense type was 98%, and the rate for all offenses in the district was 93%. ## Which Guidelines Applied The offense type is a Commission category that groups several guidelines. In this district, 15 of the 16 people had §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) as the primary guideline. The remaining person in the guideline list had §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark). These cases were less than 1% of the 2,768 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Prison Terms 13 of the 16 people (81%) received a prison term, and 2 (13%) received probation only. The median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. For all 94 districts, this offense type had 1,994 people, 77% of whom went to prison, with a median of 17.6 months. The share here is higher than the national share, and the median is lower. For all offenses in the district, the median was 48 months. ## Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range The sentence was within the guideline range for 44% of the 16 people (7). It was below the range at the government's request for 6% (1) and below it without a government request for 38% (6). 13% (2) were above the range. Nationally, 47% were within the range, and for all offenses in the district the share was 44%. The share here is about the same as the second figure and a little lower than the first. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 16 people. ## Supervised Release and Restitution 12 people (75%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 8 (50%), and no fines were ordered. 31% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 19% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Counts by Year Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 11\. No year in the table has more than 3 people. The yearly medians run from 8 months in 2019 to 48 months in 2020. The 2019 median rests on 1 person and the 2020 median on 2\. These small counts do not show a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1 | 11 months | 1 of 1 | | 2018 | 3 | 24 months | 3 of 3 | | 2019 | 1 | 8 months | 1 of 1 | | 2020 | 2 | 48 months | 2 of 2 | | 2021 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 | | 2023 | 3 | 19 months | 3 of 3 | | 2024 | 3 | 40 months | 3 of 3 | ## Installations and Limits Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Pensacola, and Tyndall AFB are in this district and appear in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. The federal data leaves out acquittals and dismissals, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (16). 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 Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-florida/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/) (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.