§2S1.1 Laundering of Monetary Instruments: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
In fiscal year 2024, the median prison term under §2S1.1 was 46 months (3.8 years) for the 983 people sent to prison, out of 1,095 sentenced. 74% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 90% pleaded guilty.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2024, the median prison term under §2S1.1 was 46 months (3.8 years) for the 983 people sent to prison, out of 1,095 sentenced. 74% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 90% pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,095 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 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.
Median Prison Term of 46 Months in Fiscal Year 2024
983 of the 1,095 people sentenced under §2S1.1 in fiscal year 2024 (90%) received a prison term. 87 (8%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 4 received a life sentence.
The median prison term was 46 months, which is 3.8 years. A quarter of those sent to prison received 94.5 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less.
For all 61,678 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024, the median prison term was 30 months. That group includes every guideline and offense type. The prison terms are the terms imposed, not the time actually served.
Criminal History Was Mostly in the Lowest Category
74% of the people sentenced under this guideline in fiscal year 2024 were in the lowest criminal history category I. 3% were in the highest category VI. Criminal history category is one of the inputs to the guideline range.
Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure cannot be compared with military cases. The approved crosswalk also has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. This post reports federal numbers on their own.
Plea and Trial Results
982 people (90%) pleaded guilty, and 113 were convicted after a trial. The federal rate for all cases that year was 97%. 93% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 40 months. After a trial, it was 96 months, based on 111 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not describe the evidence or plea offers, so they cannot explain the difference.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Of the people with range information, 21% (230) were sentenced within the guideline range. 49% (532) were below the range at the government's request, and 29% (320) were below it without a government request. 1% (13) were above it.
Across all federal cases in fiscal year 2024, 46% of sentences were within the range. Under §2S1.1, a within-range sentence was less common. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 280 of the 1,095 people with that information recorded (26%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
943 people (86%) were ordered to serve supervised release, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 89 (8%). Restitution was ordered for 395 (36%).
About the Guideline and the Year
The Guidelines Manual titles §2S1.1 "Laundering of Monetary Instruments; Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Unlawful Activity." The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases is Money Laundering. Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.
In fiscal year 2023, 1,132 people were sentenced under the guideline, with a median prison term of 48 months and 21% within the range. In fiscal year 2025, there were 1,170 people, a median of 46 months, and 25% within the range.
For fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 10,282 people were sentenced under §2S1.1. 90% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 48 months, 92% pleaded guilty, and 22% were within the range. The table lists every year. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included.
| 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 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2S1.1 (1,095), 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 2023 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2S1.1 Laundering of Monetary Instruments: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025 (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.