Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
The Southern District of Florida sentenced 70 people for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses, and the records for this offense type run through fiscal year 2024. 56 (80%) received a prison term, with a median of 14.5 months. The median for all 94 federal districts was 17.6 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY201 › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Southern District of Florida
In brief: The Southern District of Florida sentenced 70 people for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses, and the records for this offense type run through fiscal year 2024. 56 (80%) received a prison term, with a median of 14.5 months. The median for all 94 federal districts was 17.6 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 70 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.
Prison Terms for 56 of 70 People
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" includes 70 people sentenced in this district. 56 (80%) received a prison term, and 9 (13%) received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 14.5 months. A quarter received 24.8 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. The records give terms imposed, not time served.
Across all 94 districts, the Commission counted 1,994 people. 77% were sent to prison, and the median was 17.6 months. The district's prison share was higher, and its median was lower.
Counterfeit Currency Leads the Guidelines
The most common primary guideline was §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States), with 57 people. 13 people were sentenced under §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark).
These cases were less than 1% of the 17,081 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses here, the median prison term was 32 months.
Guilty Pleas and 3 Trials
A total of 67 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 98% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 37 months, based on 3 people. That is too few cases to say how trials usually end.
Among guilty pleas, 84% had a written plea agreement, and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 70 people (1%).
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 70 people, 37 (53%) were sentenced within the range. The government requested a lower sentence for 7 (10%), and 26 (37%) were below the range without that request. No one was above the range.
Nationally, 47% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release
Restitution was ordered for 28 people (40%), and a fine for 4 (6%). Supervised release was ordered for 54 people (77%), and the median term was 36 months.
On criminal history, 64% fell in category I and 3% in category VI, which is the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts Fall Over the Years
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to the end of the next September. The table shows 20 people in fiscal year 2016 and 1 person in each of fiscal years 2022 and 2024. The table has no entries for fiscal years 2021 and 2025.
With counts this small in later years, the yearly medians do not show a trend, and the records cannot show why the count changed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20 | 19 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 19 | 12 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 17 | 7 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 7 | 9 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2020 | 3 | 37 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 16 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 11.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 27 months | 0 of 1 |
What Is Not in the Records
The data does not show the amount of any counterfeit currency or the type of product in any case. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are left out. Military courts try courts-martial, which are not included in these numbers.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (70). 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 (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 Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, 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.