Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
Of the 20 people sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 18 (90%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 18.8 months, compared with 17.6 months in all 94 federal districts together. 16 sentences (80%)
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY20 › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Southern District of Illinois
In brief: Of the 20 people sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 18 (90%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 18.8 months, compared with 17.6 months in all 94 federal districts together. 16 sentences (80%) were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 20 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.
Sentences Close to the Guideline Range
The strongest finding is the guideline fit: 16 of the 20 sentences (80%) were within the recommended range, and the other 4 (20%) were below it without a government request. None was below it at the government's request, and none was above it.
For this offense type in all districts, 47% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 55%.
Prison Terms
18 of the 20 people (90%) were sent to prison, and 2 (10%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18.8 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
In all districts, 77% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The district's median for all offenses was 71 months. The Commission reports sentences handed down, not time actually served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 24 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 4 | 16.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 58 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 33 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Guidelines Used
This offense type combines counterfeiting, forgery, and copyright crimes. The most common primary guideline was §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States), with 18 people. §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark) applied to 2.
Across the district, 2,576 people were sentenced in these years, and this offense type was less than 1% of them. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 15 of the people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 5.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
All 20 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. 70% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 30% were straight pleas.
Cases that ended without a conviction are absent from these figures. Each of the 20 people was convicted and sentenced.
Conditions, Money Orders, and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 20 people. 17 people (85%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 12 people (60%), and a fine for 10 (50%). 20% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 10% were in the highest, category VI.
Yearly Counts Are Very Small
Yearly counts in the table range from 1 to 6 people, and several years have only 1. Fiscal year 2017 shows a median of 0 months for 2 people, and fiscal year 2021 shows 58 months for 1 person. These figures describe too few people to show a trend.
Scott AFB, Illinois, is the installation in the district that this site tracks. Its courts-martial go to military courts, so none of these federal cases are court-martial cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (20). 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 Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, 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.