> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the-fy2024/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:25:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:25:28.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2024, 60 people were sentenced under §2B5.1, the guideline for counterfeit bearer obligations of the United States. A total of 52 (87%) went to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. A trial conviction applied to 2 people, and 58 (97%) pleaded guilty. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of ](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the/) › §2B5.1: FY2024 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2024, 60 people were sentenced under §2B5.1, the guideline for counterfeit bearer obligations of the United States. A total of 52 (87%) went to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. A trial conviction applied to 2 people, and 58 (97%) pleaded guilty. 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 60 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024\. 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/). ## Fiscal Year 2024 at a Glance The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 60 people in fiscal year 2024 whose primary guideline was §2B5.1, "Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States." The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Of the 60, 52 (87%) received a prison term and 8 (13%) received probation only. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 18 months. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 7.8 months or less. ## Plea Agreements and Straight Pleas Guilty pleas numbered 58 of 60 (97%). Among those pleas, 76% had a written plea agreement and 24% were straight pleas with no agreement. Both trial convictions led to prison. The median after a trial was 25.5 months, based on 2 people. The median after a guilty plea was 18 months. ## How the Sentences Related to the Range Within the guideline range: 52% (31 people). Below the range at the government's request: 12% (7 people). Below the range without a government request: 30% (18 people). Above the range: 7% (4 people). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 60 people (2%). Supervised release was ordered for 48 people (80%), and the median term was 36 months. ## Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History in 2024 A fine was ordered for 5 people (8%), and restitution was ordered for 34 (57%). The lowest criminal history category, category I, held 27% of the group. The highest, category VI, held 23%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Comparison With All Years and All Guidelines Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,486 people were sentenced under this guideline. Of those, 84% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months, 99% pleaded guilty, and 57% were sentenced within the range. The 2024 median is the same as the median for all years, and the 2024 plea rate of 97% is lower than the 99%. In fiscal year 2024, 61,678 people were sentenced in federal court under all guidelines. Their median prison term was 30 months, which is higher than under §2B5.1\. Their guilty pleas were 97%, about the same as here, and 46% were sentenced within the range. The neighboring years were fiscal year 2023, with 67 people, a 20-month median, and 48% within the range, and fiscal year 2025, with 40 people, a 22.5-month median, and 53% within the range. The Commission lists these cases under the offense type Forgery/Counter/Copyright. | 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% | ## What Cannot Be Learned From These Counts The data includes only people who were sentenced after a conviction. It does not include acquittals or dismissed cases. A group of 60 people is small, and a single year is not a trend. The records do not explain why a sentence fell where it did. This guideline has no close court-martial counterpart in the approved crosswalk, so the federal numbers are reported on their own. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B5.1 (60), 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. **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](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) - [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the/) (overview) - [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the-fy2025/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [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.