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# Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-forgery-counter-copyright-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:00.000Z
- Description: The Northern District of Mississippi sentenced 14 people under the "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2023. 7 of them (50%) were given prison terms with a median of 32 months, against a median of 17.6 months for all 94 districts. All 14 pleaded guilty.
- 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 Mississippi, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-mississippi/) › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Northern District of Mississippi

**In brief:** The Northern District of Mississippi sentenced 14 people under the "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2023\. 7 of them (50%) were given prison terms with a median of 32 months, against a median of 17.6 months for all 94 districts. All 14 pleaded guilty.

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 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](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/).

## Counterfeit Currency Cases Made Up Most of the Group

§2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) was the primary guideline for 12 of the 14 people. The other 2 were sentenced under §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark).

The offense type is the Commission's own grouping, based on the main guideline used at sentencing. These 14 people were less than 1% of the 1,573 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Probation Was Common

Probation only was the sentence for 5 people (36%). Prison was the sentence for 7 (50%). Nationally, 77% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.

Those 7 prison terms had a median of 32 months (2.7 years). The longest quarter ran 42 months or more, and the shortest quarter ran 21 months or less. The national median was 17.6 months, and the median for all offenses in this district was 36 months.

## Sentencing Above and Below the Range

Sentences below the guideline range without a government request were given to 6 people (43%), more than any other group. Within-range sentences went to 5 people (36%), and above-range sentences went to 3 (21%). Nobody was sentenced below the range at the government's request.

The 21% above the range rests on only 3 people. The national share within the range was 47%.

## Pleas

Every one of the 14 people pleaded guilty, and each plea came with a written agreement. Nobody was convicted after a trial, so trial sentences cannot be compared with plea sentences.

No mandatory minimum prison term was recorded for any of the 14 (0%).

## After Prison and Ordered Payments

Supervised release was ordered for 7 people (50%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 7 people (50%). No fine was ordered.

On criminal history, 21% were in Category I, the lowest, and 0% were in Category VI, the highest. Court-martial records carry no such field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

Most of the group was sentenced early in the period: 11 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 3 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The largest year was fiscal year 2016, with 5 people.

Medians of n/a mean no one that year had a prison term to take a median from. The table is too thin to show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 5                | 27 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2017        | 1                | 48 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 4                | n/a           | 4 of 4         |
| 2019        | 1                | 32 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 1                | 24 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |

## Limits on What Can Be Said

The data covers only convicted and sentenced people, so a charge that ended in acquittal or dismissal is not counted. The data also does not describe the offense conduct or the face value of any counterfeit items.

Columbus AFB, Mississippi, is inside this district. Military cases are decided in courts-martial, not here.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi North") 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](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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (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.