Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of Alabama, 24 people were sentenced in the "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2023, and all 24 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 17.6 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts.
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In brief: In the Southern District of Alabama, 24 people were sentenced in the "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2023, and all 24 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 17.6 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 24 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.
Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
All 24 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement.
In all 94 districts, 98% of the 1,994 people in this offense type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 97%.
Prison Terms and Probation
Prison was ordered for 21 of the 24 people (88%), and 3 (13%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, 77% were sent to prison. All offenses in the Southern District of Alabama had a median prison term of 41 months. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to anyone in this group.
Counterfeit Currency Dominates the Group
The Commission's category groups cases by the main sentencing guideline. In this district, 23 of the 24 cases fell under §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States).
The remaining case fell under §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark). The group is therefore mostly counterfeit currency cases, and the numbers should not be read as describing forgery or copyright cases in general.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Sentences were within the guideline range for 75% of the group (18 people). They were below the range without a government request for 17% (4 people) and at the government's request for 8% (2 people). None were above the range.
The share within the range was higher here than the 47% for this offense type in all 94 districts. It was also higher than the 56% for all offenses in this district.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 20 people (83%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 16 people (67%), and no fines were ordered.
In criminal history, 50% were in the lowest category and 8% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Most Cases Came in the Earlier Years
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 19 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 5 people. The data for this offense type runs through fiscal year 2023. Fiscal year 2016 alone had 10 people.
Other years had between 1 and 3 people, so the yearly medians in the table are not reliable as a trend. These cases were less than 1% of the 2,994 people sentenced in this district.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 13.5 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 3 | 8 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 3 | 2 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
What These Records Cannot Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The records do not show the facts of any case. This post reports federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (24). 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 Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, 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.