§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
Only 98 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 under §2B5.1, "Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States," a small group. 83 (85%) received prison with a median prison term of 15 months, and restitution was ordered for 65 (66%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of › §2B5.1: FY2021
In brief: Only 98 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 under §2B5.1, "Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States," a small group. 83 (85%) received prison with a median prison term of 15 months, and restitution was ordered for 65 (66%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 98 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021. 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.
A Small Group of 98 People
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 98 people in fiscal year 2021 whose primary guideline was §2B5.1. In fiscal year 2020 there were 160 people, and in fiscal year 2022 there were 86. The table lists every year from 2016 to 2025.
The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The Commission placed the 98 cases in its Forgery/Counter/Copyright category and counts only people who were convicted and sentenced.
Prison Terms and Probation
83 of the 98 people (85%) were sentenced to prison. 9 (9%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 31.5 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. The terms are imposed, not time served.
One Trial Conviction
97 of 98 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 15 months. The 1 person convicted at trial received 57 months.
A single case cannot support a comparison of trials and pleas. Among the guilty pleas, 84% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 98 people (0%).
Restitution and Other Orders
Restitution was ordered for 65 people (66%). A fine was ordered for 4 (4%). 80 people (82%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
Sentences and the Guideline Range
All 98 people had range information. 62% (61) were within the range. 23% (23) were below it without a government request, and 12% (12) were below it at the government's request. 2% (2) were above it.
For all guidelines in 2021, 43% were within the range, so the share under §2B5.1 was higher. In fiscal year 2020 it was 61%, and in fiscal year 2022 it was 57%.
Criminal History
21% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 20% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Comparison With the Full Period
Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,486 people were sentenced under §2B5.1. 84% went to prison, the median was 18 months, 99% pleaded guilty, and 57% were within the range. In fiscal year 2021, the median was 15 months, which is lower than the full-period median.
For all guidelines in 2021, 57,287 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 29 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 280 | 18 months | 97% |
| 2017 | 238 | 15 months | 99% |
| 2018 | 228 | 18 months | more than 99% |
| 2019 | 229 | 15 months | more than 99% |
| 2020 | 160 | 18 months | 99% |
| 2021 | 98 | 15 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 86 | 19.5 months | 99% |
| 2023 | 67 | 20 months | 99% |
| 2024 | 60 | 18 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 40 | 22.5 months | 98% |
Limits of a Single Small Year
A count of 98 people is not enough to describe a trend, and the records do not explain why the count was smaller than in earlier years. They also do not show the facts of any case. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers are reported.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B5.1 (98), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
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)
- §2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.