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# Federal Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-forgery-counter-copyright-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:02:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:02:30.000Z
- Description: From fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2023, 15 people were sentenced in the Western District of North Carolina for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses. Of those, 11 (73%) received a prison term, and the median was 24 months. In 47% of cases the person was in the highest criminal histo
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina,](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-north-carolina/) › Forgery, Counterfeiting, and Copyright: Western District of North Carolina

**In brief:** From fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2023, 15 people were sentenced in the Western District of North Carolina for forgery, counterfeiting, or copyright offenses. Of those, 11 (73%) received a prison term, and the median was 24 months. In 47% of cases the person was in the highest criminal history category.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Criminal History Categories in This Group

The criminal history category is a federal measure of prior convictions, from category I (lowest) to category VI (highest). In this group, 47% were in category VI and 33% were in category I.

Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart. The group has 15 people, so these shares describe a few cases.

## Prison Terms and Probation

Of the 15 people, 11 (73%) received a prison term, and 1 (7%) received probation only. The figures here do not state the sentence of the remaining people.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 24 months, or 2 years. A quarter received 35.5 months or more, and a quarter received 13.5 months or less.

In all 94 districts, 77% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 17.6 months. The median here was higher. For all offense types in this district, the median was 57 months.

## Which Guidelines Were Used

"Forgery/Counter/Copyright" is the Commission's offense category, assigned from the primary sentencing guideline. In this district, 13 cases used §2B5.1 (Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States). The other 2 used §2B5.3 (Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark).

These cases were less than 1% of the 4,904 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements

All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts was 98%.

Among guilty pleas, 87% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas with no agreement. Because no one went to trial, the records have no trial median for comparison.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the range calculated under the federal sentencing guidelines. Of the 15 people, 11 (73%) were sentenced within it. Another 3 (20%) were below the range at the government's request, and 1 (7%) was below it without a government request. None was above the range.

In all districts, 47% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offense types in this district, 53% were within the range. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 15.

## Yearly Counts

The district sentenced 10 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 5 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The largest year was fiscal year 2019, with 5 people and a median of 15 months. In fiscal year 2020, the median was 41 months for 3 people.

Counts of 1 to 5 people a year do not show a trend, and years with 1 person show "n/a" or a single sentence.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 26.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 2                | 25.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 5                | 15 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2020        | 3                | 41 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 1                | 24 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Limits

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 11 people (73%), and the median term was 24 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 8 (53%).

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Forgery/Counter/Copyright" (15). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.