Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
Restitution was ordered for 12 of the 14 people (86%) sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2018 to 2025. 9 people (64%) received a prison term, with a median of 6.4 months. For all 94 federal districts, the median was 17.6 mon
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2 › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Southern District of Iowa
In brief: Restitution was ordered for 12 of the 14 people (86%) sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, and copyright offenses in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2018 to 2025. 9 people (64%) received a prison term, with a median of 6.4 months. For all 94 federal districts, the median was 17.6 months.
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 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.
Restitution and Supervised Release
12 people (86%) were ordered to pay restitution. No one was fined (0%). 7 people (50%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
The records used here do not give the restitution amounts.
Prison Terms
9 of the 14 people (64%) received a prison term, and 5 (36%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 districts, 77% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 6.4 months. A quarter received 20 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 17.6 months, so the median in this district was lower. For all offenses in the Southern District of Iowa, it was 80 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 4 | 20 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 3 | 6.4 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 1 | 4 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Guidelines in These Cases
The Commission's offense type is "Forgery/Counter/Copyright." For 13 of the 14 people, the primary guideline was §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States). The other person had §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark).
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
6 people (43%) were sentenced within the advisory guideline range. 6 (43%) were below the range without a government request, and 2 (14%) were below it at the government's request. None were above the range.
The within-range share was 47% for all 94 districts and 37% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 14 people (0%).
Every Person Pleaded Guilty
All 14 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 98% pleaded guilty. Among those who pleaded guilty, 86% had a written plea agreement and 14% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Criminal History and Counts by Year
36% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 7% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The records start in fiscal year 2018 for this group, not 2016. 6 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts range from 1 to 4 people, so no trend can be read from the table. The yearly medians that are listed are 20 months in fiscal year 2018, 18 months in 2019, 6.4 months in 2020, and 4 months in 2021. Fiscal years 2023 and 2025 show no median. Each year has too few people to treat as a pattern.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,208 people sentenced in this district.
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in this data. Acquittals and dismissals do not. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") 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 (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 Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, 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.