Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of Texas, 41 people were sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 90% received a prison term, and the median was 28 months (2.3 years). The median across all districts was 17.6 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016– › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Southern District of Texas
In brief: In the Southern District of Texas, 41 people were sentenced for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 90% received a prison term, and the median was 28 months (2.3 years). The median across all districts was 17.6 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 41 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 Compared With All Districts
Of the 41 people, 37 (90%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 28 months. A quarter received 46 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
All 94 districts together sentenced 1,994 people in this category. About 77% of them were sent to prison, with a median of 17.6 months. This district's share sent to prison was higher, and so was its median. For all offenses in the district, the median was 13 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 28.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 11 | 37 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 9 | 28 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2019 | 6 | 21.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 4 | 8 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 2 | 52 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 2 | 32 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 48 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0.5 months | 2 of 2 |
Counterfeit Currency and Copyright
The Commission's category is called Forgery/Counter/Copyright. Its main primary guidelines here were §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States), with 23 people, and §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark), with 16.
The remaining 2 people had §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)). These cases were less than 1% of the 71,026 people sentenced in the district.
Plea Agreements Were Common
All 41 people pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas. Guilty pleas were 98% in all districts.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 41 people with that information recorded (2%).
The Guideline Range
For 21 of the 41 people (51%), the sentence was within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request were 11 people (27%), and below it without a request were 7 (17%). Above the range were 2 (5%).
In all districts, 47% of sentences in this category were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 58% were.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release
Restitution was ordered for 18 people (44%), and a fine for 4 (10%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 35 people (85%), with a median term of 36 months.
In criminal history, 54% were in the lowest category and 17% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Cases Became Fewer Over Time
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 30 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 11. The table shows yearly counts of 1 to 11 people, so each yearly median rests on a handful of cases. The records do not show why the count is lower in the later years. Prison terms in the table are the terms imposed, not time served, and the table shows no row for years without cases.
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals, dismissals, and uncharged cases are absent. It also does not show the value of the goods or currency involved.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (41). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, 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.