> ## 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 Ohio, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-forgery-counter-copyright-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:35:24.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:35:24.000Z - Description: All 50 people sentenced in the Northern District of Ohio under the Commission's "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty. 41 (82%) received a prison term, and the median was 14 months. For the same offense type in all 94 federal districts, the median was 1 - 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 Ohio, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-ohio/) › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Northern District of Ohio **In brief:** All 50 people sentenced in the Northern District of Ohio under the Commission's "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty. 41 (82%) received a prison term, and the median was 14 months. For the same offense type in 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 50 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 Dominate the Group The Commission's category combines counterfeiting, forgery, and copyright offenses. 45 of the 50 people had §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States) as the primary guideline. The other 5 had §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark). The group is less than 1% of the 7,866 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. All offenses in the district together had a median prison term of 46 months. ## Length of Prison Terms The median for the 41 people sent to prison was 14 months. The longest quarter of terms were 30 months or more, and the shortest quarter were 9 months or less. Probation only was given to 6 people (12%). All terms are as imposed by the court. For this offense type across the country, the Commission counted 1,994 people. 77% went to prison and the median was 17.6 months. This district sent a higher share to prison (82%) but its median term was lower. ## No Trials in This Group Every person in the group pleaded guilty, so no trial median can be reported. The national plea rate for this offense type was 98%. Of the guilty pleas in this district, 72% included a written plea agreement and 28% did not. ## Where Sentences Fell Relative to the Range Under the Commission's manual, each case has a calculated guideline range. 21 people (42%) received a sentence within it. A sentence below the range at the government's request went to 8 (16%), and below it without such a request to 16 (32%). 5 people (10%) were sentenced above it. In all districts, 47% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district the figure was 43%. ## Release, Restitution, and Criminal History After prison, 41 people (82%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 28 people (56%). Only 1 person (2%) was fined. A mandatory minimum applied to 1 of the 50 (2%). About 28% of the group had the lowest criminal history category and 14% the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this detail has no military counterpart. ## Year-by-Year Counts The district sentenced 30 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 20 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. A fiscal year starts October 1 and ends the following September. The table gives 2 to 11 people per year. With counts this low, the changing medians do not amount to a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 11 | 9 months | 100% | | 2017 | 2 | 35 months | 2 of 2 | | 2018 | 6 | 10.5 months | 6 of 6 | | 2019 | 11 | 21 months | 100% | | 2020 | 2 | 30 months | 2 of 2 | | 2021 | 2 | 13.2 months | 2 of 2 | | 2022 | 4 | 24 months | 4 of 4 | | 2023 | 3 | 20.5 months | 3 of 3 | | 2024 | 4 | 14 months | 4 of 4 | | 2025 | 5 | 21 months | 5 of 5 | ## Limits of These Records The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are absent. The records do not give the face value of counterfeit items or describe the facts of a case, so they cannot explain why one sentence differs from another. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (50). 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. **Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge. ## 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 Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-ohio/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-ohio/) (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.