§2S1.1 Laundering of Monetary Instruments: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 319 of the 990 people sentenced under §2S1.1 in fiscal year 2019 (32%). The median prison term was 50 months (4.2 years), 8 people received a life sentence, and 91% pleaded guilty.
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In brief: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 319 of the 990 people sentenced under §2S1.1 in fiscal year 2019 (32%). The median prison term was 50 months (4.2 years), 8 people received a life sentence, and 91% pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 990 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019. 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.
Mandatory Minimums in Fiscal Year 2019 Laundering Cases
A mandatory minimum is a prison term that a statute sets as a floor for certain offenses. Of the 990 people sentenced under §2S1.1 in fiscal year 2019, 319 had a mandatory minimum prison term (32%). All 990 had that information recorded.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counts a case under §2S1.1 when that guideline set the offense level for the most serious count. The Guidelines Manual titles it "Laundering of Monetary Instruments; Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Unlawful Activity." The Commission's offense type for these cases is Money Laundering.
Length of Prison Terms
904 of the 990 people (91%) were sent to prison, and 54 (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 8 people received a life sentence.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 50 months. A quarter received 98.5 months or more, and a quarter received 21 months or less. The median for all 76,538 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 was 21 months. The federal total covers every offense type, so the figures are not a like-for-like pair.
The records show prison terms as imposed. They do not show how much time anyone served.
Position of Sentences Against the Guideline Range
The guidelines produce a recommended sentencing range. In 21% of these cases (211), the sentence was within the range. In 46% (456), it was below the range at the government's request. In 32% (312), it was below the range without a government request, and in 1% (11), it was above the range.
Across all federal cases that year, 51% of sentences were within the range. Under §2S1.1, within-range sentences were less common.
Pleas and Trials
898 people (91%) pleaded guilty. 92 were convicted after a trial. In federal court overall in fiscal year 2019, the guilty plea share was 98%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 46 months, and after a trial it was 87 months. The trial figure covers 90 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. 93% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 7% did not.
The records contain no information about the strength of the evidence or the offers made, so the difference between the medians has no explanation in this data.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
874 people (88%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 36 months, and 1 person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. 116 people (12%) were ordered to pay a fine, and 249 (25%) were ordered to pay restitution.
Criminal History and the Military Crosswalk
70% were in the lowest criminal history category I and 4% were in the highest category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the post reports federal numbers only.
Where Fiscal Year 2019 Fits
Fiscal year 2019 ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019. In the previous year, 1,138 people were sentenced under this guideline, with a median prison term of 48 months and 23% within the range. In the next year, 755 people were sentenced, the median was 50 months, and 21% were within the range.
For fiscal years 2016 to 2025 combined, 10,282 people were sentenced under §2S1.1, 90% went to prison, and the median prison term was 48 months. 92% pleaded guilty and 22% were within the range. The table covers each year. These records cannot show why counts differ from year to year.
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not part of it.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,084 | 48 months | 92% |
| 2017 | 1,086 | 50 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 1,138 | 48 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 990 | 50 months | 91% |
| 2020 | 755 | 50 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 831 | 50 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 1,001 | 48 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 1,132 | 48 months | 90% |
| 2024 | 1,095 | 46 months | 90% |
| 2025 | 1,170 | 46 months | 92% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2S1.1 (990), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2S1.1 Laundering of Monetary Instruments: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2S1.1 Laundering of Monetary Instruments: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2S1.1 Laundering of Monetary Instruments: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (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.